Things Unseen, Things Unknown and Things Yet to Be
by Shadow Master
Summary: (BtVS/Sekirei) Years have passed since Sunnydale became a sinkhole in California and the Scoobies have done well founding a new Council to guide the Slayer line and protect the world. Now a new development has Xander returning to Cleveland and it will change EVERYTHING.
1. Chapter 1

"Things Unseen, Things Unknown and Things Yet to Be"

(BtVS/Sekirei)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this fanfic whatsoever and do not intend to in the future. I write for fun and because there are those that enjoy reading my works. Therefore I would appreciate it if you didn't take any legal action against me because I can assure you that anything you gained would be a fragment of what the proceedings would cost in the first place.

Timeline: This would take about sixteen and a half years after the end of season 7 in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Universe and about half a year before the beginning of the Sekirei Anime series. This will completely ignore the events shown in BtVS canon after the end of the TV series including season 8 comic books. Mostly because I don't like the direction canon went.

_Things Unseen, Things Unknown and Things Yet to Be_

_**Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia**_

_**November 8**__**th**__**, 2019**_

_**Xander Harris' POV**_

"Well it looks like this is goodbye for now, Zola," he said as he hefted his military issue duffle bag info a more comfortable position. "I don't know what G-man wants me for but it has to be pretty heavy duty for him to pull me out of Africa."

"Indeed. From all you have told me of him he does not seem to be a man to call home one of his most experienced Watchers without good cause." Zola stated with respect towards him.

"More like he's suspicious of what I've been up to the last few years," he laughed. "I haven't exactly been filing regular reports."

"Perhaps," she stated with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "However you've been quite busy locating and guiding the Slayers you have located in Africa as well as… other things."

"Maybe, but somehow I doubt coming clean would be the best thing to do," he said with moderate reservation in his voice. "Might just give him a heart attack."

"Agreed."

"Keep an eye on things while I'm away and touch base with the Slayer base's in your area, especially Tapiwa's," he said with mild aggravation. "You just know she's going to try something the second I leave the country."

"You need not worry. I have two friends of ours watching her as we speak," she said with confidence in her foresight. "One she will sense and the other she will not. It should prove to be enough to keep her in check until your return."

"Then I wish you good fortune, Zola. Until we see each other again," he said before bowing in respect.

"And to you, Alexander," she said, returning his bow of respect.

With that they parted company, him to the departure gate of his flight and her back to the car they'd used to get to the airport, leaving him to wonder about how things would go once he was back in Cleveland. It had been almost three years since he'd been last there but so much had changed that he was under no illusions that there'd be some friction when the Scooby gang reunited. His time in Africa had given him a new… perspective on life, on his past as well as his future. Whether or not his old friends would react well to his new outlook on life he didn't know but he did know it'd take more than Willow's resolve face to make him change his point of view.

As he passed the reflective surface of the windows to the right of him, he took a moment to marvel at how much almost two decades of living in a place like Africa could change a person. While he wouldn't say that it was all one big warzone, there were plenty of places that pretty much looked like any other major city in the world, but those hadn't been the places he'd been sent. Finding newly awakened Slayers in major cities was relatively easy, if only because there were numerous sources of information to draw upon. He was sent out into the wilds and the places where communication was spotty at best, forcing him to learn the skills he'd need to accomplish his mission.

Learn the various languages and dialects of the region so he could communicate with them, learning to live off the land since he couldn't always go by the local marketplace for food or water, learning to track both man and beast and demon since some things never stayed in one place for very long.

The hardest lesson had been to learn how to fight since he couldn't count on his soldier memories and what he'd learned back in Sunnydale only barely put him above your average civilian in terms of skill.

Some of these things he had to learn on his own because there was no one capable or willing to teach him and this led to some rather… embarrassing situations. A few had nearly caused him to lose a newly awakened Slayer but thankfully what he could not convey properly with words he was able to with actions. For the people that lived in small villages or the nomadic tribes that lived as their people had for millennia, a little more legwork was needed in order to find the Slayers he sought. In the end he had made several new friends and helped convince various groups that the new Council was different from the old one. In return they had done their best to teach him what they could so that his mission in their lands could be accomplished in a smoother manner. Some teachers had been stricter than any drill instructor in his soldier memories while others had been cryptic wise men that had come close to making his brain cells pop with their answers to his questions. Fortunately for him enough had been relatively patient and straightforward with their instruction that he was able to learn what they had to teach relatively quickly. He was by no means as good as some of their more seasoned experts but, if there was some sort of academy, he was pretty sure that he could count himself among the graduates.

Another benefit of his various training experiences was that physically he was in better condition than he'd ever been. Away from the cushy city life, he'd been forced to work for what he needed and do the things he needed himself rather than have someone else do it for him. He wouldn't say that he had a body like Arnold but he wouldn't mind drawing comparisons between him and say… Jean Claude Van Damme back in his prime. Scars marked his body but he was proud of each and every one of them since they allowed him to remember the battles in which he'd been able to make a difference. Even those that still lingered from the time his father had beat him brought him a bit of pride because they only served to show how far he'd come since those days.

Not that you could tell that from a strangers point of view.

He wasn't quite sure how but, instead of looking like a man in his early forties like he should, he instead appeared to be a young man in his mid-twenties. It had taken ten years before enough people had noticed that time hadn't had the same effect on him physically as it had everyone else but it had only been after Willow had given him a magical once over that they'd figured out the truth. Apparently, that day he'd talked his best friend down from destroying the world, he'd absorbed some of the earth's life energy that was supposed to have entered the statue of Proserpexa. According to Giles they'd all assumed that the reason the energy hadn't killed him outright was either due to Willow's weak resolve or the chaotic results magic tended to have where he was concerned. However it hadn't been until a decade later when she'd done a more in depth search that she'd learned that the energy he'd absorbed had been retarding the aging process for him. By how much she had been unable to determine but she felt it was safe to say that it'd be awhile before he'd have to worry about the costs of old age.

"Have a good flight to America, sir," the airline employee said after he'd inspected his ticket and passport.

"Thanks."

Walking down the hallway, he returned his thoughts to his destination and the reason why Giles had asked him to leave Africa for Cleveland. While he had made trips back to Council HQ every couple of years, it had been long established that Africa was his assigned region. While originally Robin Wood had been considered for the role, his relationship with Faith had caused him to withdraw his name for consideration. While he might be a bit biased, he believed that he'd done a pretty good job finding newly awakened Slayers and establishing friendly relations with various groups throughout the area. Therefore he believed that Zola was right in that it would take something pretty important for G-man to call him specifically back to Cleveland rather than give the job to another Watcher. Recalling the reports he'd read the last few months, he tried to figure out if any of them could be the reason for his recall but none seemed urgent enough. Most of them just reported the usual demonic hijinks mixed with a bit of news concerning what the various governments were doing concerning the supernatural.

_At least it __**seems**__ like they're learning from their mistakes._ _They're not repeating any of the mistakes they've made in the past but that doesn't mean they're safe from making brand new ones._

Still, he didn't think that the elderly Watcher was calling him back for that, considering the potential for collateral damage that came when you mixed him with military grade weaponry. It'd gotten so bad that, when you compared what he could do now to blowing up the high school, the latter looked like blowing up a mailbox with a cherry bomb.

Not exactly the sort of thing that would be good for keeping the global boat on even keel.

_I guess I'll just have to wait until he tells me. _

_**Arrival Gate, Cleveland Airport, **_

_**Cleveland, Ohio**_

_**Afternoon, Dawn's POV**_

Looking back and forth, she tried to find her longtime friend but the combination of numbers and her height was making it difficult.

While taller than her sister she was still short enough that she had to wait for people to move aside before she could see who was behind them. Checking her watch, she confirmed that it was the time Xander's flight was due to arrive and there'd been no announcements of delays, so she was confident that he'd appear soon.

Thinking on her longtime friend, she wondered how Africa had treated him for the last three years. She'd talked to him over the phone, of course, when he was somewhere where a phone was available, and she'd read his reports but nothing quite beat seeing him in person. Indeed while she might have gotten over the crush she'd had for him when she was younger, he was still a dear member of her family. Plus there was the fact that the last time he was home he'd been a big hit with her kids, who at the moment were oh so looking forward to seeing their 'uncle Xander' again. While they had been asking if their uncle was bringing them presents, she was confident that even if the founding Scooby didn't they'd still be happy to see him.

Turning her attention back to the crowd of people exiting the plane from Africa, she tried once more to find the one she sought but as the crowd thinned out without her finding Xander she wondered if he'd missed his flight.

"Whatcha lookin' for pretty lady?" came a voice from behind her.

"EEEP!" she shrieked in fright at the unexpected noise as she spun around reflexively to see the face of the one that'd spooked her.

It only took a moment for her to recognize Xander and as he stood before her with an amused smile on his face, she had to wonder how he'd managed to get behind her without being seen. Sure, she knew it wouldn't be too hard to sneak past normal people but every member of the Council had been trained to look beyond the normal. They were trained to be able to pick out demons from a crowd and track fast moving threats since both abilities were essential for their fight. The only way her friend could have made it past her was if his skills had surpassed her own or if she'd somehow let her own skills rust a bit. She wasn't sure which one it was but she did know how to react to his little bit of fun.

THWAP!

"OW!" they both cried, albeit for different reasons.

She said it because, unlike the last time she'd seen him, his muscles had gotten as hard as a block of wood and she suspected he'd said it out of a humorous maintaining of routine.

Time to punish him accordingly.

"You'd better wipe that smile off your face, Xander. I still have plenty of dirt on you that I haven't told anyone."

"What makes you think I don't have some stories about you to tell?" Xander asked rhetorically, the smile never leaving his face. "I've got lots and lots of embarrassing stories from all the times your mom asked me to babysit."

"Shutting up now," she said promptly after her mind informed her of the possible stories.

They stayed like that for about a minute before both of them broke out in laughter and hugged like the true friends that they were. Through the hug she could tell that it was more than his arms that were as hard as a block of wood and it made her wonder just what sort of training he'd put himself through since the last time they'd seen each other. Whatever it was, she doubted there was so much as an ounce of fat anywhere on his body and that made her wonder what he'd look like in a Speedo.

_I might be married but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the view from time to time._ She pictured a future pool party with all the original Scoobies in attendance.

"C'mon, you extortionist!" she said with humor in her voice. "My car's parked outside and you've got a lot of people who're looking forward to meeting you."

"Extortionist?! Who was the one that threatened to tell Buffy that I'd ruined her favorite sweater unless I let her watch a ton of R rated movies, INCLUDING that one called 'Wild Things'?" he asked, sounding quite smug even though his eyes said he was laughing.

"I seem to recall you like that one." she said with a sly smile as she turned his statement back on him.

"Never said I didn't but at least I was old enough to watch it," he said unrepentantly as they exited the airport. "Almost."

"You think that my mom would've cared about the 'almost', Xan?" she asked, poking at the last word of his statement.

"Probably not but she'd probably have had some fun making me think she cared," he replied back with an amused grin.

"Point. So what've you been doing the last three years? Other than the usual stuff."

"Well, not much that you probably don't already know. Found about twelve or so Slayers and trained them as best I could. Helped a village run off some mercs looking to do a little pillaging and plundering. Had my hands full with a few spunky Slayers but I'd say everything's worked out."

"You do realize that 'spunky' makes you sound like an old man, don't you?" she asked with a smile as he car came into sight.

"Considering how fast new slang pops up, I'm surprised that everyone doesn't sound like old men and women."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm quite up to date with all the latest lingo and slang used by teenagers these days," she said with confidence in her skills as a linguist. "I can hold a conversation with my kids no problem!"

"Do they tend to leave ten minutes or so later?" he asked in a perfectly casual tone of voice.

"Oh, I don't let them go for at least twenty minutes," she replied with a smile as she remembered the times she'd used their own words to embarrass them as punishment for a misdeed. "I figure by then they'll have learned their lesson."

"I feel pity for Jesse and Tara," he said, wincing a bit as he no doubt recalled what it was like to be their age.

"Don't. They had a party without my permission and wound up destroying the TV and the front lawn," she said with a bit of a growl in her tone. "They deserved what they got. The only reason I didn't do more was because the surveillance spells Willow put on the place showed that it was a couple of their friends who did most of the damage."

"Surveillance spells? In your home?" he asked with a bit of surprise. "When did this start?"

"About two years ago, I think," she replied, recalling the day it was discussed by her and the other senior Council members. "A group of demons managed to infiltrate one of our training bases in New York, somehow bypassing the wards in the process. With the surveillance spells on the inside and people watching them, we'll know the moment they make it in."

"So you're watched all the time?" he asked, sounding uncomfortable with the idea.

"Not all the time, Xan. It's basically the magical equivalent of a home security system with a few internal cameras thrown in." she explained, seeing what he found wrong with it. "We turn it on when we go to sleep or are away and turn it off when it's not needed."

This calmed him down but she could tell by the look in his eye that he'd want to inspect the spells himself or at least get a more detailed explanation of how they worked from Willow. While she personally thought that he was getting worked up over nothing, she couldn't see the harm in letting him learn the details. As she went over to the driver's side door, she used the remote on her keychain to pop the trunk so he could put his bag inside.

"And it can't be accessed by remote? Turned on without your permission?" he asked, tossing his bag into the trunk before closing it.

"With authorization by a senior division leader or a Scooby it can, but only under the right conditions."

Unusually Xander did not press the matter further but rather got in on the passenger side of the car without delay.

For a moment she considered continuing the discussion herself but then decided it could wait until later. Instead she continued asking about the things he'd done in Africa and the places he'd been to, especially those places with languages she might not have learned yet.

It turned out to be quite the interesting ride home.

_**New Watchers Council HQ, Cleveland Branch, An Hour Later, Xander's POV**_

_So far, so good,_ he thought as he entered the building. _Looks like my… personal additions haven't been picked up. Gotta remember to thank Bohlale next time I see him._

It wasn't per se that he didn't trust his friends with the changes he'd been through these last few years but he wanted to reveal them when the time was right and in his own way. If he'd come without Bohlale's wards of obscuring, he'd likely get pounced on, knocked out and restrained before he could get a word in edge wise. Looking about the nearby living room, he could see a few Slayers enjoying a little downtime while people he presumed were Watchers were going over a small pile of books in an adjoining room. They didn't seem to be in much of a rush so he didn't think that anything too important was going on and that was about as far as he got surveying the area before his attention was required elsewhere.

"Xander!" Willow said as she ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"Hey, Wills!" he responded, genuinely happy to see his longtime friend again. "Miss me?"

"Of course I have!" she said, finally releasing him from her hug. "Why haven't you been calling me every week like you said you would?"

"Well I've been busy and… well… that satellite phone you gave me three years ago had a bit of an accident," he replied, keeping as close to the truth as he could.

"What sort of 'accident'?" she asked, sounding like she suspected that the cause was something else.

"Well it turns out that they're not quite as sturdy as I'd thought they were." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "As it so happens, two knocks to the back of a merc's skull and they go to pieces. Shoddy craftsmanship for sure!"

"Xander! The Council might not be as tight for money as we used to be but you still shouldn't destroy equipment like that," she reprimanded gently before allowing her joy at his return to come back.

"I'll try to keep that in mind with the next phone." They proceeded deeper into the house, "So where's Buffy and the G-man?"

"Giles is up in his office and Buffy's down in sub-level three keeping an eye on one of our missions in Brazil," she replied as they walked down a long hallway. "She said she'd be up when it's over."

"You guys added sub-levels to this place?" he asked with a bit of surprise. "Seems like you've been pretty busy remodeling everything since I was here last."

"We've had to. The world is changing, Xander, and the whole 'save the world from your dining room' just isn't working anymore. Even the Old Council's way of doing things won't work anymore," she said with all the confidence of someone who was in the driver's seat of change. "For the last three years we've been working to modernize the way the Council does things and, yeah, there are still some things that have to stay the way they've always been it's been a good thing for everyone. I'll give you the grand tour once you've had your meeting with Giles."

"Looking forward to it," he said before trying to make out where they were going. "You guys move him to the ground floor? I thought he was up on the second floor."

"He is but we figured you might be hungry after your flight so we prepared something a little special for you." She led him through some impressive double doors into what looked like the kitchen.

It didn't take him long to find out what his friend meant because, in the middle of the table at the center of the room, was three boxes worth of Twinkies. He couldn't help but smile at this for a moment as his memories of the tasty pastry were quite vivid and for the most part they were good. The sad part of it all, though, was the fact that he wasn't quite the devourer of sweets he used to be since he'd found in his line of work that unnecessary flab could be a fatal flaw in a demon hunter. In this way Africa had been good or him since the number of places you could get a Twinkie that wasn't past the expiration date were few. In any case, he figured that he could spoil himself just this once so long as he put in a good work out later on in the evening.

"Thanks a bunch, Wills!" he said as he took out the first package of Twinkies and took his first bite.

"Hey, it's the least I can do for my best friend," she said with a smile of satisfaction that her gift was a success.

It was then that a thumb sized crystal attached to the gold necklace around her neck popped out of the neckline of her shirt that looked very well done. He could compare it to some of the more intricately crafted artifacts and talismans that he'd come across since he'd been clued in to the reality of the world.

"What's with the new bling Willow?" he asked pointing to the crystal dangling from her neck.

"Oh I got it as a gift last Christmas!" she replied sounding quite pleased with it even as she used her fingers to make it spin round and round, "Isn't it pretty?"

"It definitely catches the light in a total Liz Taylor sort of way." He replied with an amused smile.

The smile she sent right back at him warmed his heart.

For the next half hour or so they talked and he couldn't help but wallow in the nostalgia of the moment and remember the good times. Looking at the redhead, he could see that age hadn't quite touched her as it would have just about everyone else and he presumed that her talents in the mystical arts had something to do with it. Whether or not it was simply due to all the magic she'd been exposed to over the years or something that she'd done to herself, he didn't know. Hopefully it was the former because the latter sounded a little too much like her days of frivolous magic usage and he very much didn't want to see a return of Darth Willow, both because he didn't think his 'I love you' speech would work a second time and because he didn't want to have to go with plan B when it failed.

"Well, I better get upstairs and see what Giles wants," he said, finishing off the last of the Twinkies. "See ya later, Willow!"

He got up from his seat and left the kitchen, letting his mind drift back to the question of why he'd been ordered back to Cleveland. Reaching the stairs, he began to climb them as he debated the various scenarios in his mind which ranged from a potential apocalypse to something so top secret that only a core Scooby could be trusted to handle. In either case, he was confident that it would be worth his time since he'd known the head of the Council long enough that he believed the odds of assigning him to a milk run was pretty slim.

As he reached the top of the stairs, he spotted an odd metal item embedded into the wall and, after a moment's examination, determined that it must be part of the surveillance spells Dawn had told him about. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it despite the sort of sense it made considering the threats that the Council had to deal with on a nightly basis. Sure, Buffy's little sister had told him that the spells could be turned on and off like a normal security system but it had a lot of potential to be abused.

_Jet lag must be getting to me,_ he thought, dismissing his concern. _These are my best buds! I'm sure they know what they're doing._

Seeing the familiar entrance to Giles' office, he wondered if the old man was doing alright. The Brit was getting up there in years and, while his surrogate father had removed himself from the front lines, heading an international organization came with stress just as potent. Some changes in his tea and some magical herbs had helped Giles avoid some of the health problems that came with old age but he adamantly refused to try some of the more… potent options due to the slippery slope it strayed near. Willow had made a token effort to persuade him to go a little further but, despite his age, the old Brit had been strong enough to stand his ground and make the redhead back off.

_I guess I'll have to go easy on the teasing this time,_ he thought with some concern for the man's health. _Don't want to give the old guy a heart attack._

_**Giles' POV**_

"Hey, G-Man!" came an all too familiar voice accompanied by the opening of the door to his office.

_There is only one person in the world that still uses that infernal alias,_ he thought with a sigh as he set down the report he'd been reading.

Looking up at the door, he smiled as he welcomed the man he considered the son of his heart. In all the years he'd lived, he'd never truly known wedded bliss or sired any children of his own but the bonds he'd formed with Buffy and her friends had made up for it. Indeed he considered them all his surrogate children, just as he knew that they considered him to be a surrogate father in light of their biological fathers being less than adequate. In the years since they'd first met, they'd formed bonds as strong as any family related by blood and, while there had been some rough patches from time to time, the connection they all shared never broke.

"Xander, how many times must I ask you to refrain from calling me that?" he asked with a sigh that was mostly an act.

"At least once more, I think." Xander replied with his usual grin.

"I see maturity is still an alien concept to you."

"I gave it a try once. Didn't like it," Xander said, settling down into the chair on the other side of the desk. "So, what's the what? Why did you call me back to Cleveland?"

"Well… for the last six months I've been receiving unusual reports from Shintō Teito, Japan, indicating the presence of young women in possession of superhuman abilities," he explained as he searched his desk for the relevant briefing folder. "Some mirror those found in Slayers, albeit to a much greater degrees, while others have more in common with practitioners of magic."

"And? I'm presuming there's something more to this or you would've just sent an investigation team to find out more." Xander said, mildly interested in what he had been told.

"As a matter of fact I have sent two investigation teams since I first heard of these women. Both of them only managed to send a preliminary report before vanishing," he stated with concern at the loss of six Council members. "Traditional attempts have been made to locate them but all we have been able to ascertain with absolute certainty is that they are still in the city and, for the moment, alive. Aside from that, we know nothing."

"So what? This place has some heavy duty barrier and distortion fields around it?" Xander asked.

"No. We've cast potent divination spells from as close to the town as we dare and they are unable to tell us anything," he replied with concern at the lack of information. "It is unlike anything we have encountered before or has been recorded in past volumes of arcane lore."

"So basically you want me to check out a place with no reliable intel other than there are super powered girls there and you've already lost six operatives there already?" Xander asked in a way that made it impossible to determine how the man felt.

"Sadly, yes. While the Council might not be lacking in trained Slayers and Watchers anymore, the disappearance of the others makes it clear that that is not enough," he said with some regret at what he was asking of the man before him. "The reports you have sent back make it clear that you have endured difficult situations and more often than not overcome them without additional resources or manpower. That makes you the ideal choice for infiltrating and investigating what is going on in Shintō Teito. Will you take this mission?"

For minutes he waited and watched as the one eyed man considered the mission all the while hoping that Xander would take it. In truth he was more concerned about what was going on in that city than he let on but he chose not to say more because for the moment all he had was heresay and rumor. There had been rumblings from some of his contacts around the world and the one thing they all had in common was that there was something on the horizon that they could not see and it concerned them significantly. While some of his sources were skittish and tended to get a bit worked up, the rest were professionals whose information he could trust to be accurate. If all of them suspected the same thing, then he would be foolish to ignore their words and so he'd sought as many of these fragments of unease in order to bring them together to form an entire picture.

At the moment he would be optimistic if he claimed that he saw a tenth of the whole picture.

What he did see, though, indicated that the city Shintō Teito was an important part of the puzzle and secretly was another reason why he wanted Xander to investigate the city. The lad had a knack for being able to see beyond the surface and pick up on details that others often overlooked without a care. If anyone could find the proverbial diamond in the rough, it would be him.

"Consider me there. How soon do you want me to leave?" Xander asked with a look of resolve that made it clear he'd committed himself to the mission.

"With the next few days at the very most," he replied, deciding to give the young man a few more days with his friends.

"Not a problem." Xander said as he got up from his chair.

"I'll have a briefing folder sent to your room with all the information we have managed to gather thus far," he said standing up a bit slower before extending his hand.

"Good. I'll give it a good read before the trip to get up to speed," Xander said walked to the door. "See ya around, Giles."

Watching the young man go, he believed for the most part that he had made the right decision in giving the mission to him. However, as was always the case, when one did not possess all the facts there existed an undercurrent of uncertainty as well as concern. He'd read the preliminary reports the teams had sent back before they'd disappeared and knew that something important was happening in the city. Power such as what the unknown women possessed did not appear without reason and, when they gathered in one spot, widespread repercussions often followed. If he only had more information he could at least provide Xander with a theory or a list of probable suspects, but he did not.

_Still, he's always had an uncanny ability to overcome the odds,_ he thought as he sat back down in his chair. _That and a spot of good luck may very well prove to be enough to see him through safely._

His concerns dealt with for the time being, he moved along to the next matter that required his attention: Willow's latest proposals for security enhancements to every Watcher facility in the world. Pulling out the pocket watch he'd gotten last Christmas he pressed his thumb on the crystal button in the center and watched as it popped open to reveal the time. He had another hour and a half before his evening debriefing was set to begin.

_It shouldn't take me that long to finish reviewing and approving Willow's recommendations._ He thought as he picked up and opened the relevant folder, _She knows best after all._

_**Xander's Room, 11:30pm, Xander's POV**_

_So maybe it's not a malfunction in the surveillance spells,_ he thought as he watched the talisman embedded in the wall turn back on for the tenth time. _Question is: why is it switching back on?_

The obvious answer would be that someone is switching it back on after he switched it off and thought that he'd forgotten about it. Too bad they didn't know that after so long in Africa he'd developed a sixth sense of sorts that warned him when some active magic was occurring close by. It had saved his life too many times to count and it was what kept waking him up every time he thought he'd shut the talisman off for good. He couldn't quite figure out though who exactly kept switching it back on but the first thing that came to mind was someone in whatever security room the building had. Though why someone would like to watch him sleep he didn't know and, if he thought it'd do any good, he'd grab his shirt and cover up the talisman with it. It wouldn't work, though, since, according to Willow, the thing didn't see like a normal security camera. It took in the ambient magical energy floating about and used how it interacted with corporeal objects in the room. Therefore what it saw wasn't anything physical but rather it focused on the mystical so while the person down in security would be able to tell he'd covered up the talisman it wouldn't impede surveillance on the room.

_Guess this means I'm heading down there and telling whoever's in charge to leave the damn thing off so I can get some sleep._

Leaving the room in a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, he made his way to the elevator that would take him to sub-level three, where Willow had shown him the security room. He hadn't actually gone inside the room but rather it had been pointed out to him in passing on their way to the gym where the local Slayers stayed in shape. Pressing his thumb to the metal plate like he'd been shown before, he watched as a bar of green light went back and forth under his digit before flashing once as the elevator door opened. Stepping inside, he pressed the needed button and watched the doors slide shut before the box he was in began its descent.

When he arrived at the right level, he could hear sounds of people walking about but that was hardly strange considering that most of the things that the Council dealt with were nocturnal in nature. As he reached the security room, he reached out to knock but stopped at the last minute as the thought of someone using the surveillance talismans improperly floated across his mind. If that were indeed the case then it would be best to sneak in and hopefully catch the person red-handed so he could report them to Willow. With this in mind he grasped the doorknob gently and, being ever so careful not to make a single noise, he pushed the door open as slowly as he could since he knew quick movements attracted attention more than slow ones.

The room wasn't lit all that well, only a couple of lamps, with the main source of illumination coming from what he presumed were the viewscreens displaying what the surveillance talisman's saw. Once the door was opened enough, he saw a sight that made him freeze in awe: a series of square crystals hovering in the air and on each of them displaying the image of someplace in the building. It was oddly beautiful but he mentally shook himself out of it so he could focus on finding out who refused to take 'no' for an answer when it came to watching him sleep. He could tell that the person in the central chair was a woman by the long legs that dangled off the chair but what bothered him was that she seemed to be breathing rather hard. Worried that maybe she might be under someone else's control, he rushed into the room and around to the side.

What he saw both shocked him and in a way disgusted him.

Sitting in the chair, playing with herself, was a somewhat attractive brunette with wire rim glasses on, jeans and a tank top. For a moment it looked like she was so entranced by what she saw on the screen that she'd failed to notice his arrival but a second later she stopped what she was doing and jerked her head in his direction. For a moment he saw fear but that changed to haughty arrogance that reminded him so much of a certain ex-girlfriend of Willow's that came from a rich family.

"And just what do you think you're doing here?" Ms. Glasses asked him in a superior tone with an effort made towards intimidation. "This room is restricted to senior personnel only and I do not recognize you at all. Leave at once and if you speak a word of what you saw here, I will ensure that your employment is terminated immediately."

Obviously this was a woman who was supremely confident of her position in the Council and felt it gave her sufficient leeway to bully around those beneath her.

Time to dissuade her of that idea.

"Well, to answer your first question, I'm here to find out why the surveillance talisman in my room won't stay off like I want it to," he replied casually but with an undercurrent of steel. "As for no one but senior Council members being allowed in here, I can honestly say I wasn't aware of that rule. Then again I've been here less than a day so there're probably a few rules I'm a little fuzzy on. As for being fired, I think you're the one who should worry about her job, 'cause last time I checked using a security system as your own personal peep show is a lawsuit waiting to happen."

"Hmph. I have nothing to worry about. My expertise in the field electronic and arcane security make me an indispensable member of the Council and therefore safe from repercussions." Ms. Glasses stated with not a single waver in her arrogance. "As for being unfamiliar with Council protocol, I suggest you leave and familiarize yourself with it immediately or else I will have to speak with Ms. Rosenberg about having your reassigned. Perhaps the observation station near the dormant Hellmouth in Norway."

"And just why do you think Ms. Rosenberg would do that for you?" he asked, already imagining how this bitch would look on her way out of the door as well as the council.

"If you must know she and I have become quite… close… since I became part of the Council and she trusts implicitly," Ms. Glasses said with a smug smile on her face. "Certainly more than some new recruit. Besides, she is well aware of my evening… activities and permits it so long as I do not compromise compound security."

_This bitch gets to pull shit like this and gets away with it so long as she does her job?!_ _That sure as hell doesn't sound like the Willow I know. Definitely something I'm going to have to speak with her about in the morning. First, though…_

"Well, I think she'll think differently when I speak with her tomorrow." He turned to leave but paused, "After all, I think I know her pretty good."

"You… know her?" Ms. Glasses asked, sounding surprised.

"Yep. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me." He half turned back to her, his smile that of a predator. "Alexander LaVelle Harris, at your service. I've known Willow since we were both in footie pajamas, so I think I know her just a little better than you do. See ya!"

_That should give her something to sweat about!_ he thought with perhaps a bit more maliciousness then was proper.

While it was true that he hadn't found a definite way to keep the pervert from spying on him while he slept, he was confident that the fact that he had more pull with Willow than her would be enough to keep her in line. After a moment's thought, though, he decided that he'd keep what he was wearing on instead of how he usually went to bed since there was always the off chance that the bitch was mentally deficient in some way. Once Willow gave her the boot or at least cut her pay in half, he'd go back to his usual routine.

Heading back to the elevator, his stomach growled, apparently upset at being woken up as well and demanding to be fed before retiring back to bed. He sighed at this since, even after getting in shape and honing his body as best he could, his appetite remained unchanged. This meant that his stomach wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a full meal and that meant more working out tomorrow in order to burn off any excess poundage. While not averse to working out, the whole process seemed to him to be a bit self-defeating: he ate food to fuel his body and then worked out to burn off the food afterwards. It felt like chasing his tail to him but such was the price of being a living organism rather than a rock or a machine.

_I'll just throw together a foot long sub along with some chips and a soda,_ he thought, deciding on his snack as he entered the elevator. _Should be enough to see me through 'til morning._

An hour later and TWO foot long subs, he was back in bed and sleeping soundly.

_**The Next Morning, The Main Library, Willow's POV**_

_It's nice to have Xander around again,_ she thought as she looked for the volume she needed today. _Even if it's only for a few days._

It had been three years since she'd last seen him in person and, aside from a few letters, she hadn't heard from him for two months. At first it'd bothered her but a little research into the regions of Africa that he'd been travelling in made it clear that regular contact would be impossible. Despite the advances that part of the world had undergone in the last few decades, there were still areas that were electronically cut off from the world. Add to that the few remaining nomadic tribes that lived solely off the land and she had understood quickly that her best friend couldn't exactly call her every day. She'd made a few attempts with satellite phones but, given his excuse yesterday, she realized that it was pointless.

Seeing him yesterday had been like a jolt of energy being injected right into her body as memories of the past came to the forefront of her mind. Both of them had lived long lives and had spent most of them never straying too far from each other very often. Where one got assigned, the other would likely show up sooner or later, remaining there for a time before going about their respective duties. She'd made an attempt about ten years ago to make him the head of mission operations for the Council, their own personal Nick Fury, but he'd declined on the grounds that he'd do more good in the field. Considering the number of Slayers he'd successfully located and brought back to the Council, no one had been able to argue the point so he'd been allowed to go back to Africa to continue his search.

_Still wish he wasn't so far away,_ she thought before hearing the door to the library open.

Turning to see who it was, she was a bit surprised when the very person she'd been thinking of came in and looked to have something he wanted to talk to her about. Deciding to put the book she wanted on hold for the time being, she walked towards him intent on meeting him halfway so that she could find out what was bothering him sooner.

"Hey, Xander! What's up?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"There's something I need to talk to you about. In private," he said, sounding serious about what he wanted to speak with her about.

"Okay. We can talk in the office," she said, a bit puzzled at what could have caused her friend this much concern so soon after his arrival.

Putting the questions on hold she led him to the sole office in the library and closed the door before erecting wards against eavesdropping.

"There. No one will be able to listen in." she said letting him know what she'd done. "Now what's bothering you? Is it something demony?"

"No, but it is something I think you should deal with quickly. Do you know anyone down on sublevel 3 who's in charge of electronic and arcane security? Wears glasses?" he asked, sounding as though he was fishing for something.

"Oh, you mean Rue Devereaux? We hired her on about four years ago," she replied wondering where he'd run into the woman, "She wasn't around when you visited three years ago because she was busy installing security upgrades at the other compounds. The things she can do are pretty impressive even by my standards."

"Yeah, well, you might want to start looking for someone else when you hear about what I found her doing." He sounded a bit uncomfortable about his revelation. "Last night when I was trying to get some sleep the surveillance talisman in the wall kept switching back on even after I'd turned it off. After the tenth time I went down to the security room to see what was going on and… uh… found her playing with herself. I think she was using the talismans to enjoy her own little peep show. When I called her on her unprofessional behavior, she seemed to think she could get away with it because she knew you."

"I told Rue to be more discreet with her playtime!" she declared with annoyance at her female friend's activities.

"Y-you knew she was doing this!? And you ALLOW it!?" he exclaimed in surprise and some anger.

"Yeah, I found out she liked that stuff a little over six months after we hired her. Buffy and I weren't thrilled at first but in the end we decided it wasn't worth making too big a fuss over," she said, knowing she had a bit of explaining to do. "She's the best in her field that we could afford and it isn't like she's hurting anyone doing it. Still, I'll have a word with her later and tell her to adjust the talisman in your room so it'll stay off for you."

"A word with her!? And what do you mean adjust the talisman so that it'll stay off?!" he asked, only getting angrier. "Dawn said it was just like a normal security system and that a person could turn it off whenever they wanted."

"Officially that is the case. Unofficially we monitor the rooms the talismans are in all the time. After the last couple of times that demons managed to infiltrate a Council building, I decided that the old wards and protection spells weren't enough. That's when we hired Rue and she installed the new system. It's much better and quite necessary for the talismans to stay on. After all, if one of our people got possessed or was tricked into shutting off one in their room, it'd compromise internal security. So while officially we tell people that they can turn them off whenever they want, the system automatically turns them back on within five minutes of cessation of significant movement."

"So basically you're lying to the rest of the Council in the name of security and letting that bitch Rue stay around because she's good at what she does and you can't find someone better. Is that about the size of it?" he asked with so little emotion that she could tell he was borderline furious.

"I wouldn't exactly call it lying. More like regulation of sensitive information," she replied, getting a bit annoyed at his tone of voice. "It's for the best Xander. We have hundreds of Slayers working for the Council and they need to know that when they come home they're safe and can let down their guard. As for Rue, she's not a bitch; she's just a little… different. Like I said, she's not hurting anyone so I really don't see the problem."

"Don't see the-! Willow! It's an invasion of privacy at the very least and a betrayal of trust at worst!" he exclaimed angrily as he stomped towards her. "If anyone outside of this room found out about this, it could do some serious damage to the Council! In fact, if you don't reassign Rue to someplace where she can't feed her fetish and get rid of those talismanic peep show devices, I WILL tell everyone about it and they'll listen to me!"

"What!? Xander you can't!" she exclaimed shocked that her best friend would threaten her like that.

"I can and I will, Willow," he said, unwavering in his position. "Rue is abusing her authority and her resources spying on Council members like this and, if you're having trouble with security, find a more honorable way of improving it. We changed the lives of thousands of young women the day we activated all the potentials. They put their trust in us when we approached them and asked them to help fight the good fight. Letting this sort of thing go on, even behind closed doors, is wrong."

"Like some of the things you've done over in Africa are completely right?" she snapped back, angry at being lectured by someone she hadn't seen in three years. "You might not have mentioned it clearly in your reports but I did some digging after recognizing the signs of you hiding something. You've killed humans, Xander, lots of them, and more than half of them wouldn't know a demon or a spell if it bit them in the ass. You know the rules here as much as I do. Killing humans is forbidden save in situations where they are working with demons or are practitioners of dark magicks."

"That is completely different. Every person I killed had earned it ten times over and if your research is as good as you say, then you'll know that almost all of them were wanted for one crime or another," he growled back, not backing down from his position. "You wouldn't be able to find a single person who'd say I did the wrong thing killing them after I told them of the crimes they'd committed. What you're doing, what you're allowing to happen, is a breach of trust and I won't let it go any further!"

"Go ahead and try! I know you, Xander!" she yelled back, no longer holding back her anger. "You care about the Council, its mission, and the people who work here too much to risk damaging everything. Starting yelling about this and you'll only cause trouble that could very well get people killed. You won't do that."

"I know that! That's why I came to speak with you in the first place!" he yelled back, still quite furious. "I was hoping that this could be settled quietly and discreetly but it sounds like you're not willing to do anything about it. Guess I'll have to talk to Giles and Buffy about his."

"What makes you think they don't already know and are fine with it?" she asked rhetorically, trying to convey that he was the only one who didn't approve of Rue and the security measures.

"Because the possibility that all of my oldest friends backing that tramp would make this a truly crappy visit." he replied, completely ignoring that it was rhetorical. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to see some people about fixing some problems here."

With that he left the room and she could only look at where he'd been moments ago, a cloud of anger rumbling within her. Obviously the time her friend had spent in Africa had given him some strange ideas and had caused him to forget that she was the smarter of the two of them. Sure, it hurt a bit that Xander didn't simply trust that she knew what she was doing but she wouldn't let that stop her from doing what needed to be done. All of the spells and wards that wouldn't offend people with mainstream morals and sensibilities had various holes in them that their enemies already knew how to exploit. Therefore it only made sense to employ security measures that had as few holes as possible and, if they happened to ignore such things as privacy or decency …well, all that mattered was that it made them safe.

Still, she wasn't too worried about Xander telling Buffy and Giles. The former wouldn't believe him since the blonde Slayer tended to look at the world with rose colored glasses and the latter had reluctantly agreed to ignore Rue's little eccentricities in favor of security.

_If Xander thinks we can make do without Rue's security measures and my decisions, maybe I should let him prove it on his next mission,_ she thought as she fingered the crystal hanging from the golden chain around her neck.

She didn't see, due to her looking at the door rather than down, an almost invisible wisp of crimson energy manifested in the crystal before dissipating entirely.

_**The Evening Flight to Tokyo, Japan **_

_**Late Evening **_

_**Xander's POV**_

_I seriously hope that they clean up their acts by the time I get back or things are going to get messy,_ he thought before banishing the last unpleasant memory of Cleveland from his mind.

It hadn't been an amicable parting four hours ago between him and the founding members of the school but neither was it irreparable. It turned out that neither Buffy nor Giles were completely in favor of what the security bitch had done, nor were they going to let the woman off with a lecture. Their reasons, though, worried him though and had caused him to make a few ill-chosen comments about their intelligence levels. Buffy had been mad when he'd told her what he'd found out but all she'd been willing to do was suspend the woman without pay for a couple of months and maybe intimidate the whore a little. The blonde hadn't said a thing about changing the security measures in the Council compounds to allow the residents the proper level of privacy. Giles had reacted more strongly to the news but had only said he would assign more trusted members of the Council to monitor Rue's conduct once she returned from her suspension.

Neither had chosen to go with his preferred method of dealing with the situation: fire Rue and remove all talismans that would invade the privacy of the members of the Council.

That had been enough to call them on mistakes both current and past, resulting in a yelling match that had ended with all parties storming away from each other in a snit. It had also caused him to push up his departure time as quickly as he could since, the longer he stayed, the more arguments they'd get into and then their friendship might really become irreparable. He'd made only three stops before he'd left the compound and they were important. The first was to the arcane resources department to stock up on his usual load out of ingredients and trinkets, with a few things added in to compensate for his lack of info on the target area. If it had been ten years ago he would've kept it simple taking only things that he knew he could use without potentially explosive consequences. Fortunately things had changed since then and, with the help of several village shaman, among other people, he was now significantly more confident in his ability to employ the more advanced stuff. He wasn't anywhere near Willow's league but he was head and shoulders above most civilian practitioners.

The second place he visited was the armory and weapon manufacturing room where things both sharp and pain inducing were either stored or created. The person in charge of it, a Miss Sydney Rouge, had been recruited to the Council a little past five years after the destruction of Sunnydale and had proven herself a godsend. While woman did specialize in European weaponry, she was a quick study and could learn to create new weapons within a few months of studying the necessary books on the subject. She was also capable of respectable rune engraving but needed the Council's magic division to infuse moderate to large amounts of arcane energy into her weapons. Whenever he'd received a shipment of weapons with her name on the box, he'd known right away that he'd be getting quality stuff.

The woman had just one quirk that had him dread what he'd find when he received an oddly shaped weapon case in the shipments.

She had something of an obsession with taking weapons from various videogames and anime cartoons and trying to make fully functional real life copies of them.

Now obviously all of the weapons were melee oriented or comparable to the weapons they already used but the woman just didn't seem to acknowledge that some of the weapons were just plain impossible to make. Either the weapon had some magical component that made it impossible for anyone but mages to use or the weapons was simply too heavy and cumbersome to be able to take into battle. There were some weapons that she was able to successfully translate from their respective mediums into real life versions that worked for just about every combatant in the Council, but in most cases, those were just fancy versions of existing weapons with a little decoration added on. A few of the odder ones could take energy from the environment to add on some special traits such as elemental characteristics or invisible blades but nothing as flashy as what was in some of the video games out there.

Fortunately, though, when he'd asked her for some weapons to help him out on his mission, she'd just given him basic vamp killing tools as well as a weapon's case with bladed weapons in them. He'd politely asked her whether or not the weapons in the case held any of her special projects but she'd assured him that there was nothing overly special about the blades in the case. The way she'd said it had still been a bit suspicious but he'd taken it nonetheless after inspecting the contents and not finding anything other than some oddly shaped swords. There had been something oddly familiar about them but he'd dismissed the notion and closed the box without reading the paperwork that was inside.

The final stop had been his room to pack up his things so he wouldn't have to stick around a minute longer than he had to. It was about this time that Dawn had shown up and, just as his luck usually went, she didn't seem to know about the big dust up he'd had with the others. For a moment he considered telling her everything but then reconsidered since he felt that doing so would only ruin one more person's day. In the end he'd just told her that there'd been a development in his assignment and that he needed to leave early. Some might call him a coward for not telling Buffy's sister about what had happened and he couldn't exactly argue that point but the truth of the matter was that he didn't want to get into an argument with someone else. True, Dawn didn't always agree with her older sister, but even if she agreed with him it'd only cause more friction amongst the Council that the demon community could take advantage of.

He'd probably pay for it when she saw him next but at worst it'd probably be the cold shoulder or a seriously vindictive prank.

He could live with that.

Taking out the folder that contained the information the previous three Council teams had managed to send back home before they'd vanished, he began to read through the contents. The two teams had managed to identify a total of five different women with five different powers ranging from superhuman strength to lightning bolts. There were a few pictures in the folder but nothing clear enough that he'd be able to recognize the women if he met them on the sidewalk. The ones capable of using lightning appeared to share similar taste in fashion since they both wore outfits that looked like they'd been bought out of an S&amp;M catalogue. Their haircuts were likewise the same, making him think that either they were twins or wanted to give off the impression that they were. The one standing in the middle of a street that looked like it'd been struck by a small meteor was likely the one with superhuman strength.

The young woman had PINK hair!

_Either she's part demon or likes anime a LITTLE too much._

Looking at the sort of power the women seemed to possess, he knew it'd be a cast iron bitch to put them down if they turned out to have ill intent. While he didn't think it'd be impossible for him to take them in either mid-range or close quarters combat, it'd be more favorable to observe them from afar and, if necessary, use a sniper rifle to take them out. He'd have to get one through one of the black market arms dealers but he didn't think that'd be too hard to do. No, the difficult part would be making customized bullets if standard ones proved to be ineffective in taking them down in a single shot. Some of the basics like gold or silver wouldn't be too hard, nor would etching them with symbols if need be. However if some of the more… rare ingredients… were needed, he'd have to make sure to devise strategies that would make it impossible for him to miss on the first shot. Buying them might be easy enough but getting them delivered to Japan in time for him to make use of them was another story.

If, however, they turned out to have no ill intent or even proved to be beneficial to the world, he'd do what he could to broker an alliance with them. Power of this magnitude could be useful in taking down some of the more powerful demon lords and monsters that plagued the world. It might even be enough to allow the Council to really go on the offensive for the first time in its long and not always flattering history. Despite what some people might think, the Council had always been more of a defensive organization then an offensive one simply due to the fact that they only had one real weapon against the darkness: the Slayer. While there had been changes within the Council over the last decade and a half, with a big one being a decided increase in the Slayer population, they were still mostly defensive. The simple fact of the matter was that while a Slayer could take on most agents of darkness without too much trouble, there were several threats that it'd be foolish to even think about throwing down with.

The evil law firm known as Wolfram and Hart being one of them.

He still remembered the fight in LA where a last minute call from SPIKE of all people had allowed Buffy and fifty Slayers to haul the Fang gang's ass out of the fire. It had only been afterwards during a tense debriefing that the whole story had come out and he'd very nearly walked over to Lord Forehead and smacked him upside the head with a baseball bat.

Trying to take down WOLFRAM &amp; HART from the inside? Had all that hair gel turned what passed for his brain to mush!?

According to G-man's information, the law firm had existed in one form or another since the start of recorded history and had offices in numerous alternate dimensions. The very idea that a group of five or so people could somehow bring them down from the inside out or that they could take one branch of the firm and use it for good was certifiably insane! It was like trying to take down one of the mythical Greek Titans with a sewing needle for crying out loud. Sure, the Titan would know it was being stuck with the needle but there was no way in hell that the giant would die from the wound anytime soon. Far more likely that the mountainous being would simply get fed up with the little mortal wielding said needle and step on him. Fortunately for him Buffy had beat him to that particular punch quickly enough and it seemed to get through to Angel a bit quicker than if he'd done it.

In any case, there were organizations and beings that were on the Council's monitoring list but never were there plans drawn up to try and X out anything on the list.

_However, if all these unusual women are heavy hitters like these three and we can get all of them to sign on as allies of the Council…_ he thought before his mind began working on various scenarios both of the good as well as of the bad.

_**MBI Tower, Shintō Teito, Japan, 10:00am local time, Minaka Hiroto's POV**_

_Just a little more time… just a little more time and I will be able to begin the second stage of the plan, _he thought with glee and anticipation. _Hurry up and take flight, little birds! A story's prologue is only supposed to last so long before the opening act is supposed to begin!_

Still, he had waited twenty years, so he could wait a few more months.

He was about to leave his office and observe the last few subjects being released into the world when the door slammed open to reveal an agitated Takami. This caused him raise an eyebrow because he was used to her getting a little emotional whenever he went and made things a bit more interesting but, to his knowledge, he hadn't done anything that would upset her today. Perhaps something happened that could make what was to come more entertaining? He could only smile at that since if past experience was any hint the more agitated she was, the more interesting a change he would be able to make to the plot.

"What have you done this time, you idiot!?" Takami-kun asked angrily as she slammed both hands down on his desk hard enough to knock some things on their side.

"Why whatever do you mean, Takami-kun?!" he asked with a question of his own.

"Every single one of them is picking up something weird approaching the city!" replied the white-haired woman, not cooling down. "They can't say what but half of them want to find out what it is. What have you done?!"

This bit of news was enough that he couldn't answer her right away because, to his knowledge, there was nothing that should have caused such a reaction… nothing except…! Without saying a word to his old friend he got up from his desk and went over to the wall safe, punching in the fifteen-digit code. It was a code he'd devised and had committed to memory the moment that the safe had been installed in the wall. The safe itself was made up of a metal that didn't exist on the periodic table one would see inside of a school and, if he had any say in it, it'd be another five years before it did. It was one of the most durable metals on the planet and it would take an industrial grade laser to leave even a scratch on it. Opening the safe, he saw a sight that confirmed his suspicions and caused him to start giggling with glee at the possibilities this unforeseen development presented him with. After all, if it was true that this approaching element could be sensed by the beings he'd released into the city, and the same people felt a compulsion to locate it then it could only mean one thing.

"Proceed with the release of the subjects, Takami-kun!" he declared before closing the safe and ensuring it was locked. "Place a monitoring team on the ones that sense this new element the strongest and once the source is found, bring it before me."

"WHAT!? But we have no idea what it is!" Takami-kun exclaimed shocked at his words.

"And what better way to find out then to send those who can sense it in pursuit?" he said as though it were perfectly logical. "If it's something harmful the monitoring team will notify us and forces will be sent in to handle the matter."

"I… suppose that would be alright," Takami-kun said, sounding like she still had some doubts within her.

"If you want I could always send Karasuba along with them," he offered, already knowing what the answer would be.

"NO! I mean, the monitoring team should be fine for now," she said, making it clear she didn't like how the black and grey clad member of MBI tended to 'handle things'.

"Good! Speaking of her, I think it might be time to officially assemble a new squad to oversee things in the second stage of the plan. Karasuba is an obvious choice as the leader given her seniority in MBI but we'll have to choose suitable subordinates for her. Any suggestions?"

"I have a few in mind," Takami replied only after a moment's thought. "We could try to track down Mutsu and offer him a place on the squad. Another possibility would be Tsukiumi since her abilities would add some long range options for the team."

"Hmmmm…" he said as he considered the suggestions. "No, I don't think so. Karasuba is skilled enough with a sword that we don't need to waste resources hunting down Mutsu and getting Tsukiumi to work with us would be too troublesome, given her little… issue."

Indeed, almost from the day the blonde had been released into the city, the monitoring team he'd placed on her on a whim had reported that the woman had stated numerous times that she'd kill any man who triggered the special 'reaction' in her. Therefore getting her to agree to join the squad would be problematic since she would need to experience the 'reaction' in all its glory in order to be of any real use to him.

Sitting down at his desk, he brought up the database on released subjects and activated a randomizer so that fate itself could choose who would be placed on the team. The first was Benitsubasa and, without thinking about it, made a note that she should be approached for the job because, while she was a bit young looking, she had shown an impressive aptitude for hand to hand combat. She'd be the perfect successor for Yume and, with a little help from Karasuba, might well surpass the former member of the squad. Running the randomizer again, he stopped it on the next possible candidate but he decided against having Haihane recruited. While the records of her testing were admirable, he wanted to have more diversity on the squad and that meant choosing someone who could strike at a distance. Adjusting the randomizer's search patterns, he waited for the next potential recruit to appear.

_This could be quite amusing!_ he thought with a giggle as he looked at the file for Oriha. _According to my spies, Higa has shown an interest in her but hasn't 'recruited' her just yet. Snatching her up before he can acquire her services would remind him nicely where he stands in my city._

"I think Oriha and Benitsubasa would make fitting subordinates for Karasuba," he stated, turning his screen so that Takami-kun could see his choices. "Have some of our people approach them with the standard squad 'perks' and salary."

"Fine, but I'll expect you to forward a copy of the information the monitoring team sends after the new releases locate this unknown as soon as you get it." Takami-kun said, apparently deciding that being half satisfied was enough for today.

Watching her leave, he began to speculate on what the approaching phenomena could be and how he could work it into his plan. Was it some sort of object? If so, perhaps he could acquire it and make it one of the prizes of the special events that he would no doubt introduce into the plan to spice things up. Was it a person? Unlikely since he had never once encountered a person who induced a reaction like that in the items he had securely stored in his safe. However if it turned out to be true, the person would definitely have to be 'persuaded' into spending some time in a MBI lab so that his scientists could examine them thoroughly.

_The gods and goddesses are truly with me!_ _This is surely a sign of their favor! A sign that I will use to the fullest! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_

_**Crossing the Eastern Bridge into Shintō Teito, Japan**_

_**Early Afternoon, Xander's POV**_

_It's times like these that I'm glad I got Africa as an assignment,_ he thought as he drove the rental car across the bridge. _It let me get used to odd hours and getting the job done on little sleep. If my sixth sense is anything to go by, I'm going to be busy._

Indeed, it had been roughly an hour since he'd first felt something odd on the plane but at the time he'd discounted it as jet lag. When it didn't go away he was forced to reconsider his appraisal of the situation and consider the possibility that it was something beyond the normal. Using his years of experience to his advantage, he'd been trying to discern what the feeling was and if it was being directed specifically at him. If it turned out to be directed at a specific area, he'd just have to move outside of it before he established his base of operations. After all, this could very well be what had caused the previous Council teams to vanish and, if they'd overlooked it for some reason, then their disappearance could be explained. If it was some sort of energy field that identified intruders and even point out if there was a little something extra to the ones that came in range, then both the Slayers as well as the magically adept Watchers would be spotted at once.

Luck was on his side, though, since he still had on him the wards of obscuring and it'd be at least another day or so before he'd have to recharge them. Then again, depending on the complexity and power of the phenomena he was detecting, the wards might only be preventing his unseen foes from getting a precise fix on his location. In any case he would keep his guard up until he'd gotten settled in his HQ and put up a few of the more exotic protection spells he'd learned up on all available points of entry.

Looking about as he drove along in his rental car, one of the fanciest ones they had available, he tried to see if he could spot anyone matching the ladies in the pictures G-man had given him. The sidewalks were pretty busy with people and he was moving at a decent enough clip so nothing more than a passing examination could be done. As he proceeded down the various streets that made up the paths of the city, he could not spot a single one of the ladies in the pictures. He sighed with disappointment as it would've been quite nice for him to get a break early on so that he could solve the mystery sooner rather than later. Still, it was the way his luck tended to go more often than not, despite the years of experience honing his skills and increasing his knowledge. No matter how much he learned or how many things he experienced, it had no effect on the kind of luck he tended to have whether it was in his personal life or on a mission. Fortunately for him the fact that his bad luck wanted him to stay alive was also something that hadn't changed since his days in Sunnydale.

Accessing the GPS system in the car, he pulled up a map and immediately looked through the possible locations for an HQ based on his recollection of the addresses included in the folder. Immediately he removed the Council safe houses that the previous teams had used and also removed the ones that existed in apartment buildings or residential areas. Whatever it was that managed to eliminate the previous two teams so skillfully, he didn't want it to risk civilians if things got destructive. That left only the Council owned warehouse that was outfitted to house a large number of Slayers as well as act as a base for a large scale operation. It'd provide multiple options for concealment if necessary and would be better stocked than the other locations, not to mention if a fight broke out, the potential casualties for a nighttime fight would be lower. Marking the warehouse on the GPS system, he began to drive towards it, mentally beginning to map out a search pattern for the city.

_I'll focus around the areas the previous teams took their pictures and move outwards from there._ _Until I know more about these ladies, it's about all I can do._

It took no more than twenty minutes to reach the warehouse and, after taking a moment to look around the area, he spoke the password that would open the main doors for him.

"Mellon," he whispered and watched as the steel reinforced doors rose up from the ground.

He still shook his head at the password and wondered if perhaps he should send a memo to the team in charge of setting up the safe houses. While it might have been cool to use the same password that Gandalf used to open the doors to Moria, it wasn't the best one to use for a secret organization. While the odds were pretty long there was still a chance that someone, perhaps a 'Lord of the Rings' fan, would be able to guess it and that would cause nothing but problems. If it was just a random civilian it risked putting out important information for the world to see but, if it turned out to be someone with a bit more… imagination, then the information might fall into the hands of demons. Neither possibility was something he approved of and therefore he would prefer it if the passwords were a sequence of letters, numbers and symbols at least fifteen long. The number of possible combinations would prove difficult to overcome and, if you added something like a blood seal or some sort of spiritual recognition spell, then truly only Council members would be able to gain access. He'd have to extend the suggestion to the appropriate department and hope that they had the wisdom to follow through.

Driving the car into the warehouse, he looked about the area and was satisfied that nothing had been used since the warehouse had originally been outfitted. Not that he suspected anything different but he'd still considered the possibility that somehow the unknown enemy had located every single Council safe house in the city. If he found so much as a single thing out of place that he couldn't explain to his satisfaction, he would consider the place compromised and move onto the next possibility. It might be a bit of a bother but it'd be a small price to ensure that he wouldn't have any unpleasant surprises in the middle of the night when trying to get some sleep or when he went to the can.

It only took him about two hours to inspect the most likely places for surveillance devices, bugs and other nasty surprises that an enemy might plant in the warehouse. He didn't find anything odd but he did find out more of Rue's surveillance/security measures and wasted no time in ripping every last one out until there was nothing left. He then began to use the ingredients he'd brought with him to put his own security in but was forced to keep it basic since he didn't want to use up everything he'd brought in. It'd be enough to let him know if something entered his room as well as put out some illusionary mist that would provide him with openings to either escape or attack depending on the situation. Depending on how long he'd have to stay in the city in order to resolve the mystery, he might incorporate more powerful protections but only if these ladies decided to make an enemy of him. He hoped that wouldn't be the case but again his luck tended to lean towards that outcome more often than not, so he'd hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Going over to the computer set up, he powered it on and let it do its standard boot up while he got a cup of coffee to help cope with the jet lag. As he took his first sip, he was glad that the people who maintained the safe houses when they weren't being used had the foresight to keep the food and coffee fresh. While he wouldn't say that he was a big coffee drinker, it was one of the more effective ways of revitalizing the body when sleep wasn't an option. When he got back to the computer, everything seemed to be ready for use…

…except for the connection to the Council network. Instead of green it showed red, which meant that it wasn't even getting a response, never mind managing a partial connection. This struck him as being a bit odd since never once had he gone on one of these systems and not gotten through right away. It was one of the points that Willow often liked to boast about that the computer network the Council used was both the most secure on the planet and was problem free. Therefore it didn't make sense that this system was unable to connect with the network. For the next little while he did his best to go through every troubleshooting step he knew of and a few he'd only heard about but the Council database connection stayed red. Seeing this, he could think of only two possibilities to explain it: either there was a problem with the hardware or this system had been purposefully severed from the Council's network.

He might not be a rocket scientist but even he knew how to read between the lines.

Willow was trying to 'teach him a lesson' about questioning her decisions and was basically saying if he thought he was right then he could prove it by accomplishing his mission without any help from her. He sighed, annoyed, but he sort of expected something like this to happen sooner or later and would deal with it as best he could. All Council safe houses came with the basic demonic encyclopedia, the basic spells and potions recipe book, as well a list of local contacts for the area it was in. With that information he'd be able to manage and, if something a little trickier came up, he'd just have to use some of his under the table resources the Council didn't know about. The reason they didn't know was because most of the contacts were somewhat shady and some made a living breaking the law. This would outright nix them out if Buffy or Giles met them but for him they weren't bad enough that he'd turn them down if they had something he needed. True, the real scumbags he'd either ignore or kick the shit out of but, for those that lived by a decent enough code of honor, he'd have no trouble doing business with them.

_You can try to teach me all you like, Willow, but it won't do you a bit of good. You should know by now that I always do things my way._

With that he began to memorize the areas where the sightings took place and commit every route possible, whether it be above ground or below, to memory.


	2. Clearly Disturbing Encounters

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my works. I would prefer not to be made to see the inside of a courtroom because of my hobby.

_**Izumo Inn, Early Evening, Asama Miya's POV**_

_A new scent has come to this city,_ she thought as she swept the front walkway of the inn.

Indeed she had sensed its approach since late this morning and it had only gotten stronger since then. It had been so prominent to her senses that she'd almost forgotten to chastise Uzume-san for walking around the inn without her panties. That didn't happen, though, and hopefully her tenant would finally conduct herself with the proper decency while she was within the inn. If past experience was any indicator, then her words would work for a few weeks before the young woman would forget and have to be reminded all over again. Still, she could not give up hope that eventually the brunette would grow into a fine woman and perhaps create a family of her own. Until that day came she would continue to do as an older sister should and teach her the proper way to behave while punishing her for any improper behavior.

As for the new scent, it was truly mysterious; no matter how much she tried, she could not define it. It was unlike anything she had ever sensed before but for some reason she didn't believe that it was a threat to her or the people she cared about. Whatever it turned out to be, she suspected that it might just alter the path the future would have otherwise taken, even if only by a little bit. She could not say that she was opposed to this possibility because the future, as it stood twenty-four hours ago, had not been a bright one.

With that horrid man in charge of MBI she knew that this city would soon become his playground where he would pit innocent people against one another for no other reason than because it amused him. When she thought of all the heartache that would occur over the next year or so, it was almost enough for her to open the trunk she had up in the attic. However each time she thought of doing so, two things stayed her hand and reminded her that it was not her place anymore to take direct action in such matters. The first was the fact that, as strong as she was, she was still only one person and that man knew her methods well enough that she was sure he'd already taken steps to hinder any efforts at a direct assault. The second… the second was that every time she looked at the contents of the trunk, she was reminded of that day of loss and a sharp pain caused her strength to abandon her.

Confronted with these two things she was force to acknowledge that all she could do was give shelter to those she could and if possible help those that would enter the battlefield to survive.

It was all she could do.

Hearing the door to the Inn open, she watched as Kagari-san walked through, dressed in his work clothes as an employee of a host club. She guessed that he had chosen to take a night off from his 'hobby' in order to do work that paid for a change. A good thing, too, since, by her reckoning, the young man was at least two months behind in his rent. She would hate to have to kick him out and not just because she needed the money in order to pay the bills for the Inn, but also because she genuinely enjoyed the young man's company.

"Off to work I see, Kagari-san?"

"Yes. I haven't been putting in enough hours for the manager so I have to catch up," Kagari-san said, closing the door to the Inn behind him. "I'll be back late so I'll try to be quiet coming in."

"Of course. Give it your best at work," she said before taking on a tone her husband had used on occasion. "You are late on your rent, after all."

While she kept her expression polite as always, on the inside she took a measure of satisfaction in the fact that she had managed to get her point across to her tenant. The look of unease on his face and the look of fear in his eyes that showed for a moment told her that. She wouldn't do anything to hurt him or even hold him to specific date of when he'd have to pay all he owed her but little incentives like this were necessary. Even after all her husband did to make the Inn and maintain it until his death, there were still bills to pay and that meant money needed to be brought in. Considering that only Uzume, Matsu and Kagari lived with her, she was barely making ends meet as it was. Uzume's jobs were random and often part time due to her frequent trips to the hospital. Matsu used her computers to acquire the money she contributed. Kagari had his job at the host club. While she would follow her husband's example of never closing the doors of the Inn to people truly in need of shelter, she still had to make money where and when she could.

"A-ah… yeah. Don't worry," Kagari-san said with sincerity. "I'll work as hard as I can and with tips I can probably pay most of what I owe back."

"That will be fine," she said with a warm smile. "Well, I'll see you later."

"See ya!" Kagari said, walking away in the direction of his job.

Resuming her sweeping as the sun began to set on the city, a part of her mind continued to try and make sense of what she was feeling at the moment and it's true nature.

Despite her intelligence, she didn't think she would be able to figure it out anytime soon without some sort of hint.

_**The Streets of Shintō Teito, Japan, Mid-Evening, Xander's POV**_

_I'm gonna have to have a little talk with Sydney the next time I see her, _he thought as he drove down the street looking for anything out of the ordinary. _What's the point in giving me a weapon like this if I can't conceal it? Plus whoever heard of a six piece weapon?!_

Looking at the weapon's case in the back seat of the car, he couldn't fault the quality of the blades but none of them were small enough that he could conceal even in a trench coat. At the rate things were going, he'd have to stick close to his car and stick to yanking out the smaller blades unless he needed something bigger. It'd show if he moved the wrong way or if the person looking at him was particularly observant, but it was a personal rule of his to never go anywhere without some sort of weapon on him. Still… there was a part of him that sort of, kind of, liked the weapon as he remembered the film that it'd been in and he remembered how much he'd liked watching it. He doubted that he'd be able to use it like the main protagonist in the movie but he'd used big weapons like that before, so it wasn't like he was a complete amateur.

_If these ladies turn out to be as powerful as the pics say they are, I'll probably need to break it out eventually._ He stopped at a red light. _I just hope that I don't get sued or something. Probably not with all the cosplay stuff that goes on in the world. Maybe they'll offer me a part in a new movie!_

It was a whimsical thought that he brushed away within seconds since, while he might've wished for the life of a movie star back in SunnyD, he knew it wouldn't be conducive to his current responsibilities. At the moment the things he was obligated to do required keeping a low profile and not attracting unnecessary attention towards him or the Council. If he failed in being discreet, he'd have to make sure that no evidence of the connections he had to the others were ever found and silence any who looked like they were getting too close to the truth.

It'd probably mean getting his hands dirty but that was nothing new to him.

He was just driving past a multi-level parking garage when a flicker of light caught his attention and it wasn't from any visible source of light that he could see. In fact, it was more like light being reflected off of something and, when he looked about the area for the source, he saw very violent movement coming from within the garage. When he spotted a flash of purple light he knew he'd hit his first lead and immediately pulled a hard right turn into the garage, ignoring the honking of the horns. He got a bit annoyed at the booth operator but, the moment that waste of time was over with, he drove as quickly as he could up to the second level from the top in the hopes of at least seeing the combatants with his own eyes before they pulled a vanishing act. Fortunately for him there didn't seem to be a great many cars in the garage so he didn't have to worry about maneuvering around them. It was when he arrived at the location of the fight that he took in three things.

The first was the fact that there were three occupants before him engaged in a two on one fight that definitely went against his preference for a fair fight. While it was another thing entirely if the one turned out to be someone who'd have no trouble taking two enemies on at once, judging from the person who was the one in trouble, he found this to be an exception to his rules.

The next thing his mind perceived were the details of the three unknowns and immediately he began to make connections with the two aggressors and the picture he had in the file. Oddly enough they were twins and, from the way they were holding each other's hands, they either needed tactile contact to use their powers or had a phobia about be separated. They were also wearing the S&amp;M outfits they'd been wearing in the picture, making him wonder if he really wanted to attract their attention. He'd dated a few women in his lifetime and none of the ones that were into that sort of thing ever left without leaving some painful marks on him.

True, he'd left more than his fair share of marks on them but that didn't count since he was pretty sure they'd gotten off on them.

Down on one knee a dozen feet from the S&amp;M Twins was a young woman either in her late teens or early twenties with short black hair and the number seventy-two tattooed on her left shoulder in purple ink. She wore something that looked like a cross between a crochet halter top and a turtle neck of the same color as her tattoo but what caught his attention first were the knife holsters strapped to her upper arms. Looking around, he could see the former occupants of those holsters sticking out of some parked cars and anything weaker than concrete. She wore dark purple gloves that went up her arms and stopped just shy of the holsters while her long skirt seemed to be split up the front quite a bit. He wasn't sure if she had shorts or anything underneath but, if she did, they'd have to be hot pants or biker shorts because anything else would be visible from his present position.

The final thing he took note of though was the fact that whatever fight the two sides were having appeared to be pretty much over with. The twins were in far better shape then the knife thrower, whose clothes were torn in places and whose body was covered with obvious injuries, some of which bled. None of the injuries looked like they required a hospital to fix but the odds that she'd be able to turn the fight around were slim his reckoning. Then, of course, there was the fact that he HATED bullies so that pretty much meant that he was crashing this party whether it was a good idea or not.

Reaching into the duffel bag that was in the passenger seat, he pulled out one of the little 'surprises' he had brought with him on the off chance he ran into something he couldn't handle. He pulled the pin on the metal cylinder while sliding the car to a stop next to the purple clad young woman, with the passenger side facing her.

"Close your eyes, ninja girl!"

Fortunately for him the short haired young woman didn't hesitate, so it was only the S&amp;M ladies who got a bright flash in the face and enough noise to rattle their eardrums.

"Come with me if you want to live!" he yelled as he pushed open the passenger side door and tossed the duffel back in the back with the case of six blades.

He winced a bit as he realized that he'd just quoted Arnie and that he didn't really know whether or not the twins planned on killing ninja girl, but it was too late to worry about it now.

Fortunately for him the young woman didn't recognize the quote or, if she did, she didn't care because she hopped into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. Not wasting any time he shifted into first and peeled some rubber heading back the way he came even as the sound of two angry women cursing in Japanese reached his ears. Sadly, whether it was due to his love of Anime or his experience as a Watcher, he understood everything they were saying and some of it was as imaginative as it was painful. Navigating the multi-story parking garage while heading towards the exit, he kept glancing a bit in the rearview mirror for any sign that they were being pursued. He wasn't sure if the twins could do anything other than toss lighting around but he seriously hoped that they couldn't move as fast as electricity, otherwise things were going to get a bit complicated.

Sparing her a glance, he could see that, while his passenger seemed to be relieved to get out of the fight she was losing, she wasn't entirely trusting him either but as he put his eye back on the road he found that he didn't mind. She had no reason to trust him seeing as how they'd just met but he hoped that he'd at least won some trust from her by pulling her out of a tight spot. Entering traffic a bit cleaner than he'd left it, he kept his guard up but, after ten minutes of nothing, he concluded that the twins had given up.

_Guess super speed doesn't come with the electro-lady package,_ he thought as he began looking for a place to tend to the young lady's wounds. _Good thing since fighting people with that power is a major pain in the ass._

Seeing an empty parking lot with zero cover aside from some parking meters, he pulled in before going far enough from the busy street that he'd be able to see newcomers quick enough.

_**The Empty Parking Lot, Natsu's POV**_

Who was this man?

It was a question she had been asking herself ever since she'd seen his car come screeching into view after she'd suffered a particularly bad hit by those loser Sekirei twins. Then again, if the stranger hadn't shown up when he had, she'd likely be the one labeled loser right before they put her down for good. She'd been searching the city by night, as she often did when she wasn't working, looking for the thing every one of her kin had been seeking since they'd taken their first steps into this city. Even though it had been a while since her search had begun and, even though she hadn't yet found a clue, she was still confident that she'd find who she was looking for.

Then, just as she had been in mid-leap between buildings, the S&amp;M twins had attacked.

She'd heard about them from a few of her sisters that had been in the city longer than her. Apparently they were a pair of winged Sekirei that specifically targeted members of their kin that hadn't yet found the special someone they were looking for. It was why most of her brothers and sisters had a low opinion of the two since it was obvious that the only reason the duo targeted such a specific group was because they weren't good enough to take on an enemy capable of going all out. Sadly she was one of those who couldn't bring their full strength to bear, so she had been forced to fight with what she'd had. She'd gotten a few good throws in with her blades at the beginning of the fight but it soon became clear that two on one odds along with an attack much faster then her own was too much for her to overcome. Nevertheless she was stubborn enough that she wasn't going to give up while she still had a few blades left in her holsters, but there at the end she'd been seriously thinking about making a run for it.

That's when the strange man next to her had appeared and thrown some type of grenade at the twins before offering her a method of escape. On instinct more than conscious thought she'd jumped into his car and, the moment she closed the door, her rescuer had torn out of there at a high rate of speed. As they'd driven along, obviously making sure they'd lost the twins, she'd asked herself the same question over and over since it didn't make sense for a perfect stranger to help her out. With that in mind she added two more questions to the original one: what did he want with her and was she going to have to start running soon.

"Well, let's get those scrapes and cuts taken care of, 'kay?" The man said as he got out of the car, "Give me a minute to get the first aid kit out of the trunk and we'll see what we can do."

_He stopped here to tend to my injuries?_ She thought with a bit of surprise since it hadn't been her first guess concerning what he intended to do.

The reminder of the hits she'd taken caused the injuries to flare up a bit and she winced in pain at some of the more serious ones. If this guy was willing to patch her up then she was hardly going to stop him and, if he asked for something unreasonable for compensation, she still had one blade left. Hearing him open the trunk, she decided that it'd be best if she got out of the car since there wasn't near enough room for wounds to be tended to properly. Opening the passenger side door, she got out and only winced a bit as she put her weight on a leg that had a nasty gash on the thigh before she walked towards the rear of the car. As she came around the side and her eyes beheld the contents of the trunk, she seriously had to wonder who the man was again. He pulled out of the trunk a large red and white box that was matched what she'd seen of first aid kits but around it were other things you didn't normally see in trunks.

She was fairly sure that an assortment of shotguns, automatic pistols, assault rifles and a bazooka weren't any more typical of most trunks than the throwing axes, the daggers or odd bottles filled with things she couldn't identify. As he closed the trunk, he must've caught her gaping because he put on a disarming lopsided grin before setting the kit down on the top of the trunk.

"I know what you're probably thinking. You're probably thinking 'is this guy some kind of gun crazy mercenary' or maybe 'is this guy an arms dealer', but the truth is a little bit stranger than that," the man replied before opening up the kit. "Now hop up and let's get you fixed up."

Getting onto the trunk, she decided that the time had come to get some answers from this strange man that had just saved her.

"Who are you?"

"Me? The name's Xander Harris, but I guess it should be Harris Xander over here in Japan," he replied as he took out a bottle whose contents she could not identify. "Now this is probably going to sting like a sonuvabitch but it's all part of the process."

Pouring a bit of the bottle's contents onto a square bandage, he then began to rub it against her wounds, starting with the ones that were bleeding and ending with the ones that were not. He was right in that it did sting but it was nothing that she hadn't learned to cope with throughout the period in which she had been instructed in the use of her weapons as well as close quarters combat. Pushing aside the pain, she decided to move onto the next important question on the list of things she wanted to know about her hero.

"Why did you save me?" she asked before wincing at the protest a particularly loud wound gave her. "You don't even know me."

"Does a man need a reason to help someone in trouble?" Xander asked her rhetorically as he began to apply bandages to the necessary wounds. "I don't think so. Besides, I've always had something of a white knight complex and it's gotten me into quite a bit of trouble helping the helpless, though I suppose over here it'd be called a noble samurai complex."

She almost scoffed at the idea because she might have liked the stories Takami told her about the honorable samurai of the past that would put their very lives on the line to follow their code she knew reality was quite different. That was not to say that there weren't good people but there did not exist a single person that would follow a set of rules so absolutely so as to endure great suffering and misery. Sooner or later they would reach the limit of what they could handle and their own survival instincts, as well as their own aversion to pain, would cause them to break from the code they believed in. She might feel a little bitter about that but at the same time she couldn't really blame them since she was fairly sure that she'd probably do the same in their position.

She was about to ask him another question when the skin of his hand brushed against her thigh as he secured a bandage over the cut that was there. Almost at once she began to feel unusually hot but it was not from the air that this heat came, but from within her own body and it only increased as time went on. As the heat increased, so too did the beating of her heart begin to gather strength and, with this combo, she was only half aware that he was still talking to her. Amidst the new sensory input she tried to figure out why she was feeling the way she was. The answer came to her moments after she had asked the question and her heart soared as she realized that the one that she'd been searching for all these weeks could very well be right in front of her.

_I've found him!_ She thought as she half became aware that he'd taken notice of the change in her condition.

"Are you alright? You look a little flush," Xander said as he put his right hand to her forehead to gauge her temperature.

His touch only fanned the flames within her and it got to the point where she had to do **something** to relieve the heat or else she would surely pass out. As he brought his eyes level with her own, she knew she had to take advantage of this opportunity since it was by far easier than trying to convince him to take on the role she desired he hold. That was why with speed born of resolve and desire she reached up with both her hands and pulled his face forwards so that their lips pressed together like the most passionate of kisses.

Like a volcano erupting after a period of ominous rumbling, the heat left her body and, though she could not see it, she knew her wings had unfurled behind her.

She had been winged and the man before her was her most precious one.

He was her Ashikabi!

Now and forever she would be with him no matter what came their way.

_**Apartment 4G, Haruno Apartment Building, Late Evening, Xander's POV**_

"So you mind explaining all that to me again, Natsu?" he asked as he sat down on her couch.

There was nothing wrong with his hearing but what she'd told him on the ride over to this building was a bit too crazy even for him.

"Sure," Natsu replied from the kitchen area of the apartment. "As you saw back at the parking lot, I'm not what you'd call a normal human. Hell, I'm not even human to begin with. I am a Sekirei."

"And that is?" he asked, recalling wings made of light that sprung from her back after she'd stolen a kiss from him.

Not that he'd minded all that much, considering she was pretty easy on the eyes, but he generally liked to get to know a girl first before he kissed her. Then again his entire life had been about as far from typical as a person could get without trying, so maybe he shouldn't sweat things like 'normal' or 'accepted' so much.

"I suppose the best term would be alien but I'm afraid I can't give you much more information than that. They didn't exactly give us all the details at MBI," she replied as she returned with two cans of local beer in her hands. "Just that they found all of us in a spaceship on Kamikura Island and, based on that discovery, conceived of the Sekirei Plan."

"And that is?" he asked, a little wierded out at the fact that he was standing across from a genuine alien.

"Originally, from what I heard, it was meant to protect me and the others from various governments and organizations that wanted a piece of the spaceship for themselves." She handed him one of the cans. "After those assholes got the message, though, the head of MBI got the idea of turning it into a citywide battle royal between us Sekirei. He says he wants to create a new age of gods and goddesses, to write a real life legend that'd be remembered for centuries, with Shintō Teito as the stage where it'll all happen. Personally I think that bastard is just doing it for kicks or to play at being a kami."

_Well this isn't at all what I thought I'd find when I got here. _He popped the can open and took a sip. _Mmmm. This Orion Draft Beer isn't all that bad._

Indeed, when he arrived he'd assumed pretty much what Giles had told him, that the ladies were either demons or magic users, so the possibility of aliens never even entered the picture. Still, it didn't wig him out as much as it would've when he was back in high school but he attributed that to all the amazing things he'd seen since then. When you've seen fire rain down from the sky, demons of every variety, magic that could literally end the world and other things like that, then it took quite a bit to make his jaw drop in shock.

Still, he didn't think he liked what was happening in this city.

The idea of a group of aliens, both male and female, being forced to duke it out because some CEO wanted to write a chapter of the world's history or something all on his own didn't sit right with him. He was going to wait before doing anything since he only had Natsu's version of events to go by and that wasn't enough to justify what his knee jerk reaction was to the situation, namely gather up a small arsenal and then go and 'convince' the asshole in charge of the plan to change things into something more ethical on pain of a painful and messy end.

"And that whole bit with you stealing a kiss and sprouting light wings from your back?" he asked, deciding to get to the more personal matter of her explanation.

"That? W-well, every Sekirei has been told that there's a special someone, a precious person, waiting for them out in the world and that that person will become our ashikabi," she replied, looking more vulnerable and less crass then a moment ago. "There's also the fact that a Sekirei can't go all out without an ashikabi. If they try to do more than their body is capable of before being 'winged', they could seriously damage their bodies."

"How seriously?" he asked, wanting to know more.

"Potentially dying seriously," she replied, her voice just above a whisper.

_Okay, so I've got a young woman who's been told that her soulmate is out in the world somewhere and thinks I'm it resulting in a liplock that, everything I know, tells me is a contract of some kind,_ he thought as he tried to get a good grasp of his present situation. _There's also some kind of tournament coming down the highway where the two of us will probably be expected or bullied into participating in by the CEO of a company that owns most of the city. Not an impossible situation but it still doesn't explain what happened to the two Watcher teams G-Man sent here._

"Any special rules to follow?" he asked, wondering if perhaps one of these might have something to do with the disappearances.

"Why, I'm glad you asked, Harris Alexander!" came an obnoxious voice as Natsu's TV suddenly turned itself on to reveal a white haired guy wearing glasses and a cape.

_Now there is a guy who doesn't care if people piss their pants laughing at him._ _Who the hell wears a white cape these days?!_

"To answer your question, the rules of the Sekirei plan are fairly simple," the man said as though he was some game show host. "The first is that you cannot tell anyone not affiliated with the plan about the plan. If you choose to defy this rule, MBI will take steps to make you follow this rule. As for the rest… well, I'll let you know what they are once I've thought of them. Goodnight, Alex-kun!"

_Okay so there might be something to Natsu saying this guy's just doing it for his own personal kicks, _he thought as he glared at the TV screen for a moment.

Before he could give voice to his disbelief, though, fatigue decided to make itself known and tell him that he still wasn't over the jet lag from his flight. He really wanted to know more but, short of sneaking all super spy-wise into MBI tower and getting some inspirational honesty out of that guy, he doubted that he'd get anything more tonight. Better to get a decent night's sleep and start fresh tomorrow morning.

"Well, as amusing as this might be…," he paused as a yawn escaped him, "I'm still feeling the jet lag from my flight over. I'm going to get some sleep and then we can talk some more."

"You're not staying?" Natsu asked as though he was her special guest and he was rejecting her hospitality.

"Well… we just met and all… so, I figured it'd be a bit much for me to impose on you," he replied, half turning back to her with honesty. "Besides which, this is a pretty small apartment so I'm betting you only have one bed. It'd be a bit forward of me to ask about us sharing it when we haven't known each other for even a day."

Mentally he had to smirk a bit since, had this had been fifteen or twenty years ago, he'd have been a stuttering, uncomfortable mess, sweating at the idea of staying at some pretty girl's apartment. Nowadays, however, he'd been around enough women both romantically as well as not and had sufficient experience in both arenas that it took quite a bit more to fluster him.

Something that his old arms dealer friend Funanya took as a personal challenge every single time they met. Fortunately for him he wasn't likely to bump into her anytime soon since, last he heard, she was away on some business deal on an island in the eastern area of Thailand. Granted, Japan wasn't too big of a hop from that area but he seriously doubted that he'd encounter her since no arms deal he could think of spanned the distance between Thailand and Japan.

"Well, it's already late and… well, I heard that we're supposed to be getting some snow tomorrow so it'd be simpler just to stay here the night," Natsu said, trying to sound as well as look casual but not quite making it. "Besides, who said you'd have to share my futon with me? The couch over there folds out into a bed, so you can sleep there no problem."

Looking over at the couch, he had to admit that her proposed living arrangements would work out well enough for tonight. He'd already decided to hold off on telling her the address of his warehouse HQ for a couple of days until he was certain he could trust her with the info. Sure, she said that she was his Sekirei and him her ashikabi, but that didn't really let him know much about the connection. Did it mean she couldn't betray him even if she wanted or did it mean she'd be more reluctant to stab him in the back then normal? Then again, it could be no different than an employer and an employee but, considering the light show that Natsu's wings put out, he somehow doubted it was something that simple.

"Then I guess you have a guest for tonight," he said with a half grin that she returned.

It didn't take the two of them long to set up the couch bed and, within an hour, he was off to dreamland.

_**Unknown Location Within Shintō Teito, Midnight**_

"It has been confirmed. Alexander LaVelle Harris is in Shintō Teito."

"Well then it would appear that the Watcher's Council didn't heed our warnings," he said, leaning back in his seat as he contemplated this turn of events. "Disappointing, considering the reputation they've managed to gain over the last decade or so."

Indeed, while they might not have had the longevity of their predecessors, the current version of the Watcher's Council they had shown themselves to be far more resourceful and adaptable. When he'd first learned of them taking interest in the events going on the city, he'd evaluated their threat potential and determination before removing them from the game board. When a second team from the Council had been dispatched, he'd removed them with just enough delay to let their superiors know they'd arrived at their destination. It had been his belief that after losing two teams that they would rethink involving themselves in matters that do not concern them.

_It would appear that they are determined to involve themselves despite my warnings,_ he thought as he scratched his chin a bit. _Perhaps they require a more explicit message in order to make the correct decision._

"Has Dr. Wilson made any progress with the A.S project?" he asked, thinking that perhaps he had an elegant solution to the arrival of one of the Council's founding members.

"As a matter of fact he has," replied his second in command through the phone. "His research has reached a point where he will need to apply what he's learned to a live specimen before he can proceed any further."

"Excellent. Tell him he's free to use the prisoners in rooms 2S and 2W for the process," he declared with a small grin. "Inform the good doctor that he is to use every method at his disposal to ensure the survival of the prisoners as he experiments. Tell him I require those specific prisoners for a mission and at the very least I would like two of them to survive the process so that they can be used in a field exercise."

"You intend to send them after Harris?" asked his second in command.

"Yes. Regardless of whether or not they succeed, they should succeed in driving the point home that they're not wanted in this city and should stay out." He said this with a finality that would not be challenged.

"Based on the information in his latest report, it will take at least a month for them to undergo the procedure and another two weeks following that to ensure they are ready for field testing," stated his second in command after a moment of thought.

"That will be fine. Continue monitoring Mr. Harris' activities and use the information to plan out an appropriate confrontation scenario," he ordered as he decided to bring the call to an end. "Also see if you can determine which of the safe houses we've located he is using as a base of operations. We may be able to glean some useful intelligence from what we find inside."

"It will be as you have ordered, sir." Stated his second in command with resolve enough to assure him that the man would do all he could to accomplish the goals set before him.

With that he reached over to his phone and terminated the call.

It would be interesting to see how things would unfold in a month and a half.

It brought a smile to his lips.

_**The Next Day, The Streets of Shintō Teito, Natsu's POV**_

"So how many of… your kind are there?" Xander-sama asked as they walked down the sidewalk together.

"One hundred and eight," she replied, not letting it show that within she was bombarded with desires. "I don't know all of them and some of them might still be undergoing adjustments for the game."

From the first day she'd been told of the word ashikabi and had it explained what precisely such a person would mean to her, she'd spent countless hours imagining what it'd be like when she finally found her most precious person. At first it'd been an image of a perfect man or woman with just the right clothes and just the right physical features who'd always shower her with love and never be mad at her. That was an image she'd had as a child but, as she'd gotten older, it had evolved into something a bit more romance oriented and a little less big brother-ish. Prior to her encountering Xander-sama, her image of an ashikabi was a true partner who would complement her own combat abilities with a keen strategic mind while at the same possessing a kind heart.

From what she could tell of Xander, he did possess a kind heart for what else could explain his coming to her rescue and the tending of her wounds that came afterwards. However she had yet to see any sign of strategic skill outside of his driving ability, so she'd have to wait before she could get confirmation that he met her criteria.

"Adjustments?" he asked sounding a bit curious.

"I don't really know the details," she replied, genuinely not knowledgeable about the process. "It's just something every Sekirei needs to go through before they can leave the MBI compound."

Indeed, when it came to science, she was pretty much a cavegirl so she didn't even bother trying to figure out what the scientists at MBI were saying, even when nice ones like Takami tried to break it down for her in simplest terms. When it came to her combat training, though, her teachers had been impressed with her natural talent and, when she'd shown a strong aptitude for knife throwing, they'd repeatedly challenged her by placing the targets in increasingly difficult positions. She could not say that she was a master at throwing blades, as there had been a couple of challenges she'd been unable to defeat in her training, but she was still pretty damn good if she did say so herself.

Feeling a bit of a chill in the air even with the coat she'd put on and, out of nowhere, an idea came to her that caused her to blush somewhat. The idea had been to use the excuse of the cold to get closer to him and maybe even grab one of his arms so that at the very least they might look like a couple to an outside observer. However the idea of doing so made her decidedly uncomfortable seeing as though they'd known each other for less than twenty-four hours. When he'd voiced the concern last night about the sleeping arrangements, she'd almost been reduced to a stuttering mess but had managed to clear her head when the fold out bed came into her field of vision. All through the night, though, she had taken time whenever she woke up from a particularly… enjoyable… dream to consider what her future would be like from this point forward.

The possibilities that her mind came up with were both great and terrible.

On the one hand she considered the best possible outcome, wherein both she and her ashikabi fell deeply in love and won the tournament that was to come. Indeed it had caused her to break out and hum the traditional song 'here comes the bride' since she figured that Xander would prefer a more American wedding than say a Japanese wedding. She'd had to catch herself a couple of times when she'd gotten loud enough that there was a chance her ashikabi might have heard her but, since he hadn't said anything this morning, she assumed he hadn't. Nevertheless the images her mind had produced of that particular series of actions were quite appealing and had likely been responsible for her whim to grab onto his arm.

It was the other side of the argument that kept her from diving head first into his arms and urged her to take things a day at a time rather than attempt to fit it all into a week. This side of the issue was the possibility that he might not be interested her in the slightest and might… might leave her once his business in the city was done. She didn't want to believe in that but she couldn't discount it as a possibility either since she knew that the reaction her body had towards him was biological rather than emotional. It had been explained by the people at MBI that they would know who their ashikabi was by the way their body reacted to him or her and that it would be an exchange of saliva that would initiate the bond between them. Not once during the entire explanation did they mention that there had to be mutual attraction between the two people in order for her body to react or for her to be winged.

There was even a rumor going around that it was entirely possible for someone to forcibly wing a Sekirei against their will.

_It's a good thing that I don't have to worry about that anymore._

"Then I'll leave it at that," he said without another word.

As the silence went on she felt a pressure of awkwardness and anxiety building on her to the point where she had to break it with something.

ANYTHING!

"So… um… have you ever been to Japan before?" she asked before mentally kicking herself for such a pathetic question.

"Nope. I'd considered doing it after graduating from high school since I was a big fan of anime at the time but something always popped up that I couldn't ignore," he replied with a wistful tone. "The last couple of years my job's pretty much kept me locked in Africa. Now that I'm here… well, I wish I'd come in the summer rather than now, if only to be spared the cold."

"Used to living in warmer places, eh?" she asked with a bit of amusement.

"Yep. Born and raised in California and, while in Africa, things usually stayed pretty warm there too."

Seeing him shiver for a moment, she chose to take a chance and grabbed onto his right arm with both of her arms and pulled herself close to him. Her happiness soared at the closeness but, when she looked up at him and saw some unease in his eye, she quickly came up with a harmless reason for her actions.

"Just thought you might like the body heat until you can get some decent winter clothes," she said casually even though her stomach was doing flip-flops.

Seeing the unease change to gratitude, she knew her words had been accepted without him suspecting alternative reasons for the move.

"Probably a good idea to get some since I'll probably be here 'til spring at the earliest," he said, glancing at the gray clouds forming in the sky. "Here's hoping it doesn't start snowing until after I get my new wardrobe or else I'm going to get sick for sure."

"Then how about we go get it now?" she asked with interest before tripping a bit. "I-I mean, unless you have something else to do today."

"Not at the moment. Might need to go out again tonight but, other than that, I'm all yours for today." He said with a lopsided grin that had no equal.

She smiled with joy at that statement even though she knew he probably hadn't intended it the way she had chosen to take it. At this point in their relationship she'd take whatever she could get and then some while she waited for things to develop to a point where she could try something more 'interesting'.

With that in mind and a destination set, the two of them began to head towards the clothing district of the city where she'd 'help' him choose appropriate clothes for the weather.

While she had a little bit of fun in the process, of course.

_**Evening, Driving Through the Streets of Shintō Teito, Xander's POV**_

"C'mon, c'mon! You've always been an early riser, G-Man," he said as he heard the phone ringing through the speakerphone. "Pick up!"

He waited until a total of fifteen rings went by before giving up and pressing the 'End Call' button on his cell phone. It was with some frustration that he concluded that either Giles wasn't in his office or Willow was continuing her 'lesson' by intercepting all phone calls from him. Despite being almost forty, it looked like she still had a bit of her old high school spunk and was determined to make him apologize before she let him have access to the Council resources. That, unfortunately for the both of them, wasn't going to happen anytime soon because, as far as he was concerned, he was in the right and had an ace up his sleeve. When Giles failed to receive a written or verbal report from him by tomorrow, the old Brit would get wise to what was going on and force his redheaded friend to undo her bit of mischief. He could survive until then and, since he'd already figured out most of what was going on in this town, all he needed now was some follow orders on what to do about it.

Personally he was hoping it was something along the lines of 'launch a hostile takeover of MBI using any means available' but, then again, he rarely got what he wanted.

So until he got a firm set of orders he'd decided to investigate what happened to the previous two teams that had been sent to the city to investigate the Sekirei.

Pulling into a parking spot in front of the apartment building that the first team had stayed at when they'd come to see what was going on in the city, he took a look about the immediate area for anything that struck him as odd. This quickly proved to be pointless, though, since he was not familiar enough with Japanese norms to be able to tell if what he was seeing was normal or not. Getting out of the car, he entered the building and reached into his pocket to pull out the spare key to the apartment that he'd taken out from his HQ. Now, while some might think that it was pretty stupid to have it set up like that, there were precautions taken to make sure that no non-Council member would ever be able to use it. It was a basically taking the S.E.P spell and altering it so that it'd become the Some Other Key spell, tricking the baddie holding them into always choosing the wrong key. It wasn't perfect but he'd yet to hear of a single enemy of the Council successfully overcoming it and gaining access to one of their bases or safe houses.

After reaching the floor, he wanted he immediately began to look around for signs of a fight or signs of battle damage being repaired within the last two months or so. It was times like these that his experience in the construction business came in handy because, whether it was his fault or someone else's, he'd gotten pretty thorough instruction on how to patch up battle damage. Carefully scanning every surface and every wall fixture for signs of recent replacement or patching, he was increasingly dismayed by what his brain was telling him. It was his opinion that no Council team would go down easy if they came under fire from an enemy and, if it was too much for them to handle, they'd make a break for it. If the fight had broken out into the hallway there should have been repairs consistent with dented/sliced/blown apart walls, along with demolished light fixtures. Collateral damage and Slayers went together like fire and heat, so the idea that a fight happened out in the hallway with no damage being done was a universal impossibility.

_Let's hope the inside is a bit more informative._ He chose the right key and unlocked the door to the apartment safe house.

Entering the room, his worry increased but not by as much as it could have.

While he did see signs of a fight, they weren't widespread enough to indicate a prolonged fight. Instead it looked more like the team had been taken by surprise, had fought for a few minutes and then been defeated soundly by whomever had attacked them. Strolling about the room, he tried his best to reconstruct how the attack happened from the evidence he could see and what it told him bothered him significantly. It looked as though all three members of the team had tried to fight back but had their abilities impaired to a significant degree. He could tell that by depth of the cuts in the objects that had been used to block an attack by a blade, as well as the relative intactness of most of the objects. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a rock from the stuff he'd brought with him and with a few words activated it so that it could tell if there any arcane elements remained in the room. The colors that showed up on the rock were a combination of red, green and white, letting him know what sort of spells had been used in the room.

Red indicated a combat spell of some sort and, given the file he'd read on the first team's magic user, it was probably a fireball spell.

The green color indicated a spell that worked on the flesh and would either debilitate or slowly kill the target, implying perhaps a paralysis spell or entropy spell. He seriously hoped that this one had been used against the attackers because, if it'd been used on the Council team, they would not be in good shape when he found them.

The white color however indicated the presence of non-arcane elements and that was a bit of an oddity. While the Council had made some progress in modernizing the way it did things, most of its enemies were still pretty much set in their ways. Demons used their claws, sharp teeth and melee weapons. Warlocks and dark witches used their magic spells or artifacts. Vampires used melee combat weapons or hand to hand combat. The only real exceptions were those devils at Wolfram &amp; Hart but, after the destruction of their L.A branch as well as two others, those three high level demons knew better than to take the Council lightly. True, the one in Los Angeles was more Deadboy's win than the Council's, it was also a fact that if Buffy hadn't led a rescue team in there, the Fang Gang would've been killed by army of the Senior Partners. Therefore in his mind the Council deserved at least partial credit for how things turned out.

_I'll have to check with some non-Council sources to see if they've heard about W&amp;H being up to something in this area._ He began to take samples of various parts of the room. _If they are, I'll probably need to call in some serious back up._

Once he stored the samples from the five most likely places to find chemical residue, he was about to see if the first team had followed SOP when it came to their investigation info when he spotted a shadow out on the apartment's balcony. For a moment he thought that the unknown enemy behind the team's disappearance had returned to deliver a repeat performance but, when he caught a glint of metal strapped to the figure's upper arm, he realized that it was Natsu. With a sigh he walked over to the sliding door and yanked it open before the Sekirei could do more than squeak in shock at the action.

"Please don't tell me that being a voyeur is one of your hobbies, Natsu." He said in perfect deadpan as he crossed his arms across his chest. "If it is then I'm gonna have to ask that you be a bit better at it because if an one eyed man can spot you, then everyone else probably can too."

He had to exert some self-control when she blushed so much he almost became worried about her health but managed to keep from chuckling at her reaction to his suggestion.

"XANDER-SAMA!" she exclaimed in embarrassment at what he'd implied. "Just what sort of girl do you think I am?!"

"Well, since I've only known you for about a day I can't really say I know what sort of girl you are, so…" he said as casually as one might discuss a restaurant's menu.

"Well I don't DO that sort of stuff!" she declared forcefully before shouldering her way into the apartment. "I was just… keeping an eye on you just in case the S&amp;M twins came after you. Those losers can be pretty bitchy when someone makes trouble for them."

For a moment he considered playing things out a bit more for his own amusement but decided against it since it looked like Natsu was embarrassed enough.

"Well, thanks for that but I don't think those two coming after me is very likely," he said as he resumed examining the apartment. "Besides, I've got more important things to worry about at the moment."

"Like what?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"Finding out what happened to some co-workers of mine." He opened the door to one of the bedrooms. "They went missing a while back and my boss told me to come here and find out what happened to them. Want to help look this place over?"

"Sure!" she replied, sounding happy to be of assistance.

With that the two of them began to look about the apartment for anything out of the ordinary and, while he was the better trained, they managed to gather a few more clues between the two of them. Not enough to give him a clue as to who was responsible but, just like old Sherlock Holmes, he'd try to make the best of every scrap of info he had to piece together the larger puzzle.

When he had at least a basic idea of what had happened to the two Council teams, then he could go about rescuing them from whatever or whoever had abducted them.

And if they were dead, he would see the parties responsible share a similar fate.

If he was feeling compassionate enough to let them die.

_**Two Weeks Later, Black Lotus Bar, Evening, Natsu's POV**_

"Just keep cool, Natsu, and this'll all end without trouble," Xander said as they entered the seedy looking establishment.

"I'll be okay, Xander," she said even though she still kept close to him and let her eyes monitor the room for threats.

In the last fourteen days her ashikabi had shown her a side to the city that she had not thought existed and, to be honest, it bothered her. When she'd been within MBI's facility she'd been educated on the world that lay outside and how it worked so that she'd be able to survive as well as any human. Upon her release she had made her way into the human world well enough despite a few initial stumblings and hiccups but obviously her lessons had been lacking crucial details. There was a darker side of the world in which she lived and Xander had explained how it worked even as he showed it to her as he looked for his missing comrades. After examining the apartments that the two teams had lived in prior to their disappearance, they'd followed up on what leads they had to find the missing people. Those leads had taken them away from the lighter side of the world and into the darkness were things like laws mattered less and less. There'd even been a few places where he'd ordered her to stay outside of 'for her own safety' and, while she'd told him she could handle herself, he'd made it clear not to go against him on this.

The bangs, booms and screams of pain had made that very difficult each and every time.

This night, however, was expected to be the end of the legwork because in the bar they were meeting someone who dealt in weapons and magic. All the other people they'd 'interviewed' had told them much about the tools used in the apartment attacks or the ingredients used in their production, but none had been able to point out any potential buyers that sounded like potential suspects. Still, her ashikabi seemed optimistic about what he'd find in this bar so she would do her best to make sure that he got what he was after.

"I'm looking for someone who calls themselves 'The Ebon Angel'. They're expecting me," Xander said once he sat down in front of the bar.

"And who are you, gaijin?" the bald and tattooed lady bartender asked, sounding like she didn't have a high opinion of men who were of the Caucasian persuasion.

"I go by many names but the one they'd recognize around here is White Knight Harris." Xander replied, not being intimidated by the woman's appearance in the least.

THIS got a reaction that was a mix of realization and respect with just a pinch of surprise thrown in for flavoring.

"She'll be down in a few minutes," Miss Tats said after reaching under the bar to do something.

"Good," he said before pointing at a vacant table to the left of the bar.

The two of them moved over to the table before sitting down and taking in the rest of the bar. The place seemed to be filled with those that, either by choice or fate, would never be what most people would classify as 'normal'. Disfigurements, missing limbs, tattoos of every variety, piercings in places that'd be painful to have them placed and clothes that went from indecent to ridiculous levels of clashing. As a result, she was fairly sure that the two of them stood out like sore thumbs but she did her best to keep her cool even though she was fairly sure a third of the room was giving them the hairy eyeball.

That didn't stop her from fingering one of her throwing knives every couple of minutes.

It was about ten minutes later that she saw a change in Xander that let her know that something beyond the normal was about to happen. Looking in the direction he was gazing in, she saw a woman approaching them that instantly put her on the defensive due to how she was looking at her ashikabi. Tight black leather pants, crimson bikini top, light brown skin and dreadlocks done up into a pony tail were the most remarkable features but she was concerned with the woman's eyes.

They were the eyes of a lustful predator looking at prey, prey that was named Xander Harris.

"Been a long while, Alexander," the woman said in an unfamiliar accent. "I be rememberin' our last meetin' well!"

"Same here, Funanya," Xander said with only a bit of strain in his polite tone. "So… Ebon Angel? How'd you get that name?"

"One of my clients be takin' a shine to me a few years back. We had some fun in de bedroom an', after dat, him never call me by my name again," Funanya replied with a saucy smile as she grabbed a nearby chair before sitting down on it. "Den everyone else did de same, except for de ones I no like. Now, what you be knockin' on my door for, huh?"

"Two investigations teams came to this city to investigate some… unique… people but both vanished within a few days of arrival. I got sent here to figure out what's going on," Xander replied before passing the seductress a sheet of paper. "A thorough examination of the apartments they were using before vanishing turned up this. Everyone I talked to in the last two weeks says you're the one to talk to if I want to find the perps."

"Hmmmm… yes, dese be things I offer," Funanya said as she read the list. "As for me clients, you know I can't be givin' out names just like dat. When people be comin' to me to buy somethin', dey be expectin' a bit of 'confidentiality' from me. I be needin' some special 'compensation' if you be wantin' dere names."

"What kind of compensation? Money?!" she asked, not liking one bit the tone in the woman's voice.

Funanya looked at her like woman had only just realized that she was there and this only caused her to glare even harder at the bitch.

The woman actually LAUGHED at that!

"So who is dis, Alexander? One of your Slayers?" Funanya asked after she finished laughing.

"No, this is Natsu. I… ran into her during the course of my investigation," Xander replied, shaking his head in the negative. "She's been lending me a hand."

"Just a hand?" Funanya asked, sounding like she suspected something decidedly more… lewd.

"Just because you bed the guys you meet and like within twelve hours of meeting them doesn't mean that everyone is like that," Alexander replied, rolling his eye at the innuendo. "I prefer to take things slower. Kinda like a good meal: wolfing it down is disrespecting the meal and you're more likely to remember it if you take the time to savor every bite."

Hearing that, she didn't know whether or not she should be offended at being compared to a good meal. On the one hand it made her believe that, if she could convince him to see her as she saw him, that he would treasure every moment they spent together. On the other hand, food was food no matter how fancy you made it look and she'd prefer the respect afforded a person to the respect one gave a well prepared meal. In the end she decided that she'd wait until she could speak to him in a more private setting.

Now if she could just figure out how to say it without embarrassing herself in the process…

"Same old Alexander," Funanya commented ruefully before deciding to move things along. "In dat case den it'd take ten free passes back home for me to point you in de right direction."

"Five," Xander counter offered before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Seven and dey can be for whatever I want," Funanya said, haggling the price even further.

"Seven and nothing that compromises the security of the realm. Not even a little!" he said, making it clear that this was as far as he'd go on this.

"Done," Funanya said with a nod of her head.

A shake of the hands later and it was time for the information.

"Dese items be fairly popular among professionals but, as for de type dat might've gone after your teams, I can t'ink of two," Funanya said after a moment's recollection. "One be a known problem solver for hire. Goes by the name 'Razor' and is considered good enough for what be needed if de price be right. He buy quite a few things dat make me think he be takin' on a serious target. As for de other… not much information on him except that he be a high roller in the corporate world. Always works through a middle man with me."

"And the name of this middle man?" Xander asked, probing for more information.

"Kakizaki. Tall, slim build, black hair with glasses and a yellow tie to go with his business suit." Funanya replied, rattling off the man's description. "Don't know where you'd find de first one but de second one has been spotted all over town, so methinks you'll bump into him sooner or later if you go where de action is."

"He likes a good show?" Xander asked with some curiosity in his voice.

"More like he see opportunity in conflict," Funanya replied with an unexpected tone of dislike. "Him and de one he work for. Dey play de game and dey play to win."

"Here's hoping they like some competition." Xander said with determination.

"Don't think it'd be a fair fight, Alexander." Funanya said with a smirk on her face.

"I'll go easy on them then," her ashikabi said in a way that almost made her think she was serious, "Maybe."

"I be sure to keep de TV on de next few days den," Funanya commented before getting up from her chair. "See ya later, milord!"

With that the woman with the light brown skin walked away, leaving her alone with her ashikabi and making her wonder if this might be the time to make a small move.

Then she remembered the sort of place they were in and the mood was killed.

Definitely not romantic enough for her liking so she'd wait.

Not for long, but she'd wait.

_**A Rooftop of the City, Twenty-Six Days Later, Night**_

"The doctor's work is impressive," he said as he circled the prototypes, inspecting them with his eyes. "Not a single visible scratch on them and the desired tattoo in the right place. Though, if memory serves, there were more subjects than this in the two cells I designated."

"He sends his apologies, sir. Apparently some of the final procedures proved to be too much for them and, despite his best efforts, they expired on the operating table," his subordinate explained after checking some information on his smart phone. "However he is adamant in his belief that you will be satisfied with these three."

Finishing his visual examination of the three, he admitted that at least visually the two teenage girls and the thirty-something woman looked like they should. However the real test would be if they could fight like the real thing and possessed the abilities of the genuine article. If they failed that test or did not pass with flying colors then he would be most displeased with the doctor and make it known to the man in the usual manner.

"Razor? Initiate the bond with the three of them," he ordered, looking at the representative of his 'partners' in this venture.

Nodding once, the man that looked like he belonged in some heavy metal rock band signed by a major recording label walked up to the woman and kissed her on the lips. There was a moment of delay but then, just as he'd hoped, the bonding procedure became visible to the naked eye, lighting up the immediate area nicely. This was repeated twice more proving that replication of the bonding process had proven successful but only time and careful observation would determine if he could call this a complete success.

"An encouraging beginning but the real test begins now." He turned to Razor, narrowing his eyes to show his determination. "You have been given the tracking device that will lead you to your target: Alexander Harris. Once a positive identification has been made you will order these three to kill him using every means at their disposal. Other operatives will be close by recording the entire encounter so it can be analyzed and compared to the baseline data we have on the originals. Failure will be frowned on both by me and your superiors."

"You needn't worry, sir," Razor said, his speech at odds with his appearance. "I pride myself on being a consummate professional on all my jobs. Besides, three on one is going to make failure highly unlikely."

"So said many who've tried to kill Harris, if my information is accurate. Yet he's still here," he pointed out, not wanting carelessness or arrogance to muck things up.

"Not to worry, sir. Even if these three fail they'll soften him up enough that I can go in for the kill myself." Razor said with no break in his confidence concerning the outcome.

"Then I leave this up to you," he said, turning around and walking towards the rooftop entrance to the building they were on.

He didn't even need to look to know that his trusted subordinate had fallen into line behind him but only when they were two floors down did he speak.

"You have news for me?" he asked, knowing that the earlier checking of the smart phone wasn't for experiment data.

"Yes, sir. Our agents have finally confirmed the identity of the woman who's been with Harris for the last few weeks. Number seventy-two Natsu."

"Well then, that should make the confrontation a little more even. Less of an execution and more a lost cause," he said with a small grin at the turn of events. "If our source in the Watcher's Council is to be believed, the man has experience with that type of situation."

Indeed, his bought Council member had proven to be a valuable source of information and would likely be so for a time before the rest of the organization got wise to what was happening. After that, his mole would either bolt or go silent for a time with no guarantee that the silence would end at all. He didn't particularly care, though, since he'd gained more than enough data to move forward with his plans and what he lacked he was sure his 'partners' would be willing to provide.

Still, it might prove prudent to at least put some assets close to his source's location just in case he decided extraction was called for.

Unlikely but still possible.

_**Northern Shinto Teito, Later, Xander's POV**_

"Think we should keep looking around here or go somewhere else?" Natsu asked as they walked up to his rental car after they'd finished exploring every street within a ten block radius for signs of their target.

"Unless Glasses is a night owl I doubt we'll see him pounding the pavement even if he is on a job for his boss," he replied, a little frustrated at their lack of progress in the search for the missing investigation teams. "Still, a quick spin around the town in the car is worth doing before hitting the sack. That okay with you?"

"Sure!" Natsu replied, sounding as though any excuse to spend time with him was to be taken.

Normally this would be the point where he'd be worried that his bad luck with women had added 'extra-terrestrial' to the labels of potential dating disasters but he actually had a good feeling about his relationship with the knife thrower. With his connection to the gang back home STILL 'out of order' thanks to Willow's desire to teach him a lesson, he'd gotten a bit lonely during the course of his search. At first when Natsu had explained everything to him, he'd decided to keep things professional since he wanted to confirm a few facts before assuming his responsibilities as an ashikabi, but now… now he'd grown to like her company. In a lot of ways she reminded him of the good old days of the Scooby gang when time and experience had only just started to change how they acted by bestowing too-soon maturity on them. The short haired woman wasn't a hormonally driven teenager by any means but he could tell that she still had quite a bit of innocence to her and he found he liked that.

She reminded him that there were brighter parts of the world rather than dark shades of gray.

The fact that she sometimes looked at him with lovey-dovey eyes was the only reason he hadn't invited her back to the warehouse base just yet. If she knew where he lived she'd either be popping up there every chance she got or dropping the idea of her moving in with him and he wasn't sure if he wanted to take the relationship to that level just yet. After all, once he finished his investigation, found the missing investigation teams and then put an end to whatever evil was afoot, he'd be heading back to Africa. Sure, he trusted Zola to run things in his absence, he knew he couldn't neglect his duties back there forever and, while not as busy as Sunnyhell at its worst, it still kept the Slayers stationed there hopping.

Sadly the use of the word hopping and his African Slayers caused the memory of the pool party and the following training session to pop into his head, with the Slayer Janice in the lead role.

That girl took entirely too much pleasure in making him blush in the most lust-filled ways possible, especially using her… endowments. She might be a good Slayer in a fight but, when she wasn't on the clock, she did things that made even Faith gape in shock and, up until he'd met Janice, he'd thought that to be impossible.

"XANDER-SAMA! LOOK OUT!" Natsu screamed before something slammed into his side, knocking him to the ground.

As he hit the ground, he almost knocked the thing that had slammed into him until he recognized Natsu and then he looked back the way they'd come to find a light cloud of dust or dirt obscuring the spot. It didn't last long thanks to the weather of the night and, when it cleared, he found himself looking at a teenage girl wearing a somewhat futuristic looking skin tight bodysuit. There were armor plates in all the necessary areas, as well as a next gen piece of electronic head gear he'd bet good money could see things in multiple spectrums and provide a HUD for following tracking beacons. He could only see the lower half of the girl's face and, without seeing the upper half or any hair, identifying who she was would be impossible.

What he could tell was that a direct hit from the girl's fists was not in his best interests despite how he'd toughened up over the years.

Watching as the teenager pulled her right fist from the six inch deep hole it'd made at the center of the spider webbed sidewalk, he quickly chose to get back to his feet so he could face what was coming. Natsu followed his lead and pulled two throwing knives out with each hand from their respective holsters, making it clear she intended to fight.

"Not a bad sneak attack, little lady, but you missed," he said, trying to get the unknown attacker talking. "Now, since I've been known to upset my share of ladies in my life, I'm willing to let this slide if you tell me why you just tried to punch a hole in my chest. Did I stick you with the bill somewhere?"

He didn't get any response other than another lunging, full force punch, but this time he saw her coming and so he was able to evade the attack, causing the teenager to shoot by without connecting. One thing he noticed though was that, on the exposed portion of her back, just below the neck, was a tattoo similar to the one that Natsu had shown him. The difference, though, was that instead of a bird design with the ying-yang symbol beneath it, the tattoo was of a pair of swords caught in the jaws of a demonic looking skull.

"Natsu! Did you see what I saw?" he asked as the attacker turned around in preparation for another assault.

"If you mean something like a Sekirei tattoo then, yes, I did," Natsu replied before throwing two of her blades at the exposed parts of their assailant.

"You think she might be one of your siblings? Maybe some separate division that guy at MBI cooked up?" he asked, wanting to test the more preferable scenario first.

"No. This girl's no Sekirei," she replied with a firm certainty. "The professor's a big drama queen and made sure our outfits were designed to fit the story he's writing. He wouldn't have had this outfit made up. Too drab for him."

_DAMN!_ He watched the attacker bat the blades out of the air like they were paper airplanes. _That means someone is trying to make artificial Sekirei and putting their own personal seal on the recruits._

Thinking over the various possible courses of action, he decided that while winning would be tough, a few choice weapons from the trunk of the car would make it possible.

"Natsu! Keep her busy for a couple of minutes!" he said, evading another punch. "I need to get a few things!"

"No problem!" she said before shifting the blades in her hands to something more conducive to a close quarters fight before closing the gap between her and the attacker.

Smart move.

Whoever the teenage girl was, she was quick enough and skilled enough that long range attacks past a certain distance were useless. By getting in closer Natsu would have the attacker's complete attention but it also had the risk of getting hit by one of those concrete-shattering punches. Hopefully, though, he'd have the weapons he was after before a blow landed and they'd get to see if little miss assassin could swat bullets out of the air.

Some higher being must've been listening because, just after he popped the trunk, a dark purple light illuminated the left side of the car and was definitely getting brighter. Knowing what this meant, he grabbed the closest weapon he could see before diving away from the car mere seconds before it got hit with some sort of crackling energy ball. At first he thought that it might've been the S&amp;M twins looking to get some payback but, when he looked over his shoulder, he saw a thirty-something woman dressed identically to the teenage girl drop to the ground from the roof of a nearby building. Considering the building was four stories tall, that immediately told him that, along with the purple energy crackling around the hands, the woman had a superhuman body.

_Just FUCKING great!_ he thought as got to one knee. _Now we have someone who can fry you from a distance AND pound you into paste!_

Looking at what remained of his car, he could safely say that it wouldn't be cruising down the street anytime soon. Whatever the energy attack was, it'd obliterated the roof of the car and mangled the insides pretty badly, not to mention doing considerable damage to the contents of the trunk. There might be a few salvageable things there but he somehow doubted that the new arrival was going to just stand there and let him inspect things. Looking at the weight in his right hand, the weapon he'd wound up pulling out of the trunk turned out to be the sword case he'd been given back at Watcher HQ. Not his personal preference but better than nothing considering the time constraints he was under, so he popped open the case and yanked out the blade that the instructions had labeled 'First Sword'. It was a somewhat exaggerated two-handed sword with a long hilt wrapped in red, a decent sized handguard and a double-edged blade that could snap together or split into something looking like two blades connected by complex inner workings.

Deciding that he wanted a more solid sword, he flicked the switch in the hilt to snap it together before bringing it up into a guard position. Another blast of purple energy was sent his way but thankfully he'd been ready for it and had the perfect weapon to block it with. It went without saying back at Watcher HQ that just about every melee weapon they had possessed a high degree of magic resistance. After all, while it was part of the training that mages were best killed from a distance, there were inevitably times in which that simply wasn't possible for a Slayer or Watcher. In those cases, when getting up close was necessary, weapons with a high magic resistance were brought out since they could block or under certain circumstances deflect magical attacks.

Now that wasn't to say that a determined mage or sorceress couldn't eventually power their way through the weapon and break it, but it'd take a while, but that was not something he wasn't planning on giving his attacker the opportunity to do.

Charging the woman, he used his sword to protect himself from the worst of her attacks and, once he was close enough, he went with the old feint and slash technique. It worked like a charm and, with a diagonal slash from the right hip to the left shoulder, he managed to draw first blood though it was something of a close call. Whatever material the woman's outfit was made out of, it was definitely resistant to blades and, if it wasn't for all the arcane add-ons, it probably wouldn't have worked at all. Watching the woman back away with a burst of speed, he saw the red blood drip from the wound but, instead of backing off, she was the one that charged him this time.

_So much for my advantage against magical attacks, _he thought as he saw a kick swinging his way. _Guess it's time to use the reach this weapon gives me to my advantage!_

Bringing up his sword so that the kick would hit it before it'd hit him, he was caught completely by surprise when she tucked the kicking leg in at the last minute before shooting the leg back out striking the flat side of his sword. Completely unprepared for this, the weapon was knocked from his hands, clattering to the ground a couple of feet away, leaving him completely unarmed. Watching as the woman's fist pushed the air aside on its way to his face, he barely ducked under it in time but took advantage of the fact that he was within his enemy's guard. Squeezing his fingers together to form a spearhead of flesh, he thrust it forward, aiming for the open wound with the intent of causing further pain as well as perhaps a debilitating injury. His efforts were only partially effective because, while his blow did succeed in inducing pain, the woman managed to use her free hand to grab onto the wrist of his attacking hand, preventing it from penetrating more than half an inch.

As he felt the pressure rise on his wrist from the woman's grip, he knew he had to free himself or risk losing the use of that hand. With resolve born of a strong mind, he called upon the power he'd gained in Africa and, as he felt it surge through his body, he felt his strength increase. It wasn't the maximum he could bring out because the truth of the matter was that it was dangerous for him to push himself that hard.

He'd been scolded enough by the girls back in his assigned region for pushing himself too hard and he had no intention of letting Natsu do it here if he could help it.

Using the strength he'd brought forth, he yanked his hand out of her grasp using his fingertips to worsen the wound made by his sword, even if it was only by a little. This actually had the effect of causing the woman to drop to one knee, leaving him with a choice to make: press his advantage and take her out of the fight or go for his weapon to stack things even more in his favor.

He went with the former if for no other reason than he disliked showing his back to an enemy, even if it was only for a minute or so.

Charging forward, he grabbed her head and thrust his knee into her face as hard as he could, cracking her goggles in three places, ringing the woman's mental bell and disorienting her further. Then, to hedge things even further, he grabbed her by the neck and the bottom of one of the armor plates before spinning around and slamming her face first into the side of a parked car. Dropping her to the ground, he watched for five seconds to see if she'd be getting back up and, when nothing happened, he turned to help Natsu.

_She definitely could use some help._, _One arm hanging limp and an unsteady stance means she got hit solidly at least once. If this keeps going, one of us is going to be seriously hurt or maybe killed._

Picking up the 'First Sword' as he ran, he tossed it into the case before snapping the locks into place. Once he got close enough to both Natsu and her foe, he swung the sturdy case at the attacker's head and successfully managed to do some damage to the side of the girl's head as well as break off part of the goggles as confirmed by bits of metal and plastic falling to the ground.

"We're leaving!" he said to Natsu as he grabbed her uninjured arm and began pulling her into a nearby alleyway. "You're injured and I'm not sure I could beat both of them while still getting both of us to the hospital."

Natsu didn't say anything but neither did she resist running, so they made good time trying to get away from their attackers. His plan was to run as fast as they could flat out for six to eight minutes and then duck into the first populated building they came across. It was a gamble but it was his bet that whoever was attacking him wouldn't risk the witnesses to their activities and would give up until the two of them were once again by themselves.

Something he wouldn't let happen until he was properly armed and Natsu was fully healed up.

After the fifth turn and the fourth block of their evasion, he began to sense his Sekirei's fatigue building up and he knew they wouldn't be getting much farther unless he carried her. Looking about, he tried to find an appropriate place to duck into and found nothing but some sort of apartment building a little ways up the street. Stopping only long enough to toss Natsu over his shoulder, he began to run with all the speed he could muster without tapping further into his inner power. As he got closer he actually thought that his spur-of-the-moment plan would work.

He should've known that, outside of his African stomping grounds, Murphy would choose that moment to announce his comeback.

With more force than ever before, Natsu's opponent dropped from the sky, delivering an axe kick to the pavement that knocked everything helter skelter, including the ground beneath his feet. Knocked to the ground, he immediately put Natsu up against the wall that surrounded the apartment building he'd been heading to before opening the sword case to get a weapon.

"Looks like we'll have to fight them after all!" he said reaching for a weapon. "Cover me from there, Natsu, I'll—"

That was the most he could get out before a blast of purple struck his reaching hand, forcing him to pull it back in pain. Taking a moment to look at his hand, he could tell it was pretty burned and would definitely need burn cream to be applied before being wrapped up. Still, it could've been worse but, as he watched the energy using attacker from earlier drop down, he knew that being turned into a smoking black briquette was still a possibility. Getting to his feet, he prepared himself to do some serious fighting but then stopped as he saw something that almost caused him to forget about the pain from the burns.

He could see her face.

He could see the face of the woman who'd been throwing energy blasts at him.

"Caridad?" he gasped, unable to believe that one of the people he'd been looking for was right in front of him.

Daring a glance to the teenage girl approaching from his right, he could see most of the young woman's face even if the upper right was still obscured by part of the goggles.

Dana.

_WHAT THE FUCK!?_

Fact One: two investigation teams go missing investigating the Sekirei phenomena. Dana was on one and Caridad was assigned to the second once the first went missing, since it was hoped that a more experienced Slayer would prevent a repeat. Fact Two: Both teams are taken captive with no evidence to suggest that they'd been killed either in the apartments or at another location. Fact Three: he was now being attacked by two members of those teams that were almost certainly being forced against their will, given that they'd been friends last time he'd seen them. Fact Four: they were exhibiting abilities consistent with Sekirei and had similar tattoos at the base of their necks.

Someone had captured the teams and used them in experiments to create their own Sekirei while making sure of their obedience.

That PISSED him OFF!

"Natsu! No fatal wounds whatsoever on these two!" he ordered as he prepared for a much harder fight. "These are two of the people I came here to find! Knock them out, take them out of the fight somehow, do whatever you have to but DO NOT kill them!"

"I don't think that'll be a problem Xander-sama," Natsu said, doing her best to put up a decent defense as she stood. "I think I'll have a tougher time keeping her from killing ME!"

"Just do the best you can and we'll get through this somehow," he said as he prepared to deal with an energy manipulator unarmed.

_I hope._


	3. Vengeance on Hold and a Past Told

Disclaimer: I do now own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore I would appreciate it if no lawsuits were sent my way or any other sort of legal action. I can promise that nothing you get from me will cover even a tenth of what your lawyers will charge you for the entire venture.

_**Natsu's POV**_

_I must PROTECT Xander-sama!_ she thought resolutely as she used her only remaining working hand to wield her last throwing blade. _No matter WHAT!_

While it had been her first inclination to resume her fight with the teenage girl, she knew she'd be at a disadvantage with only one arm. On the other hand, if she went after the one wielding the energy blasts and did so swiftly, there was a chance she could take that one out, even in her poor state. With that in mind she charged the martial artist attacker before spinning around the girl, proceeding towards her true prey. The one that had burned Xander only had time to look in her direction before she struck and by then it was far too late. With a quick thrust she inserted a blade into the small space between the woman's shoulder joint and arm, making it impossible to move without first removing the blade. After that she zipped around behind the woman, took hold of the other arm and gave it the strongest yank she could. It was with some relief that she heard the woman cry out in pain as the arm was dislocated.

Now, aside from the woman's legs, nothing else could be used and that evened things up nicely.

Looking over at Xander-sama, she could see that he was managing to hold his own and had obvious experience fighting someone who was faster and stronger than he was. As such he was only getting the occasional glancing hit from his opponent while he was slowly beginning to wear down the teenager.

Now that she'd delivered hindering injuries to the energy user, it was time to remove her from the fight so that she could go and reinforce her Ashikabi. Moving with speed and purpose, she used her good fist, her elbow and both her feet to deliver blows or block any attempts at kicks, wearing down her foe with every move. It took a few minutes but, with one final roundhouse kick to the side of the head, the energy user was knocked to the ground and proved incapable of getting back to her feet.

Letting a sigh of relief escape her lips, she turned to where her ashikabi was fighting only to see him get punched in the arm, with an audible crack indicating a bone had been broken. This stunned her for multiple reasons, foremost among them being that the blow hadn't taken his entire arm off considering it was capable of shattering concrete in one hit. The other major reason was because it meant he'd been seriously hurt right in front of her eyes and this hurt her heart in turn. With newfound urgency she ran to help him, determined to take up a position on his injured side so that the enemy could not take advantage of it.

However, when bullets tore up the street in front of her, she had no other choice but to stop or risk getting perforated.

Looking in the direction she believed the shots came from, she watched as two people exited the alleyway, with the shorter of the two wielding dual pistols that looked unnaturally large in the girl's hands, especially considering it was doubtful that she was more than a year into her teens. With silencers on both, a lot of damage could be done with very few people hearing anything to be worried about. Beside the barely teen girl was a man that looked like he was straight out of a punk rock band, with chains around the neck, studded leather jacket and pants that looked like they'd been given the lawnmower treatment. Nevertheless, the man looked dangerous, making her wary of moving in the incorrect manner.

"Good girl, number seventy-two. You stay right there and this'll be all over soon enough," the man said with an arrogantly malicious tone. "Now, Mr. Harris, I'm sure by now you've put together the clues and realized that these three are former members of your little organization. Their disappearance was meant as a warning to you and yours to stay out of the city and what goes on inside. You've chosen to ignore those warnings, so certain steps needed to be taken."

"What have you done to them?!" Xander-sama asked, completely ignoring the other man's warning words.

"Me? Nothing. However my employers and their partner have plans in mind, a science project if you will, to take advantage of all the strong women strutting around the city," the man replied with a smile that was not kind in the least. "Imagine, if you will, Watcher: an army of women just as strong as these three, if not even stronger, up for purchase to whoever wants them. Then again, maybe the top brass will keep all of them and just conquer half the world. That's the cliché, isn't it? In any case, when you popped up in the city, it was decided to use the members of your organization's two investigation teams as test subjects for the process. Only these three survived, though, and if they can't take out one Sekirei and one human on their own… obviously further refinements in the procedure are needed."

"Shut your pie hole before I make sure you have to drink your meals through a straw for the rest of your life!" Xander-sama growled with his growing anger bleeding from every word.

"Ah! That's right… your new Council likes getting closer to your Slayers doesn't it?" the man asked rhetorically, his eyes alight with dark pleasure. "A poor move in my opinion. You should've kept it like the Old Council had it and kept your Slayers at a distance. It is, after all, strategically unsound to get too attached to your weapons especially since most of them will end up dead sooner or later. Just…like…this!"

The man took out a small device and pressed the large button in the center.

In an instant two real life examples of spontaneous human combustion came into being as both the energy wielder and the teenage girl Xander-sama had been fighting were suddenly engulfed in fire. Amidst their agonizing screams of pain, a detached part of her mind thought that it'd seen the fire come from beneath the skin of the two victims rather than from someplace on their outfits. Whatever the origin of the flames, they were consuming the woman and the teenage girl like a ravenous monster and in under a minute all that was left of the duo was ash and bone.

"Not that my bosses will want those two, considering how badly they failed to kill you and your friend. Maybe this little one will do better once she's undergone a few upgrades." the man said, showing no small amount of pleasure at the deaths he'd caused. "We'll have to wait and see on that, I guess. As for you… consider this your final warning. Leave the city, take your Sekirei with you if you can, and never allow another member of your Council to come here again. If they dare to involve themselves again…well, I am sure your imagination can come up with a few likely scenarios."

Her own anger rose in response to the man's actions and words but there was little she could do so long as the newbie teenager had her covered with the monster pistols. Looking to Xander, she wondered what course of action he'd take and decided that whatever it turned out to be she would support him completely.

It was when her ashikabi began to shake with rage that she worried he might do something a little reckless but soon a reckless action became a secondary concern. For seconds later she watched as a glow began to rise from Xander's body, a purple glow that grew in strength with every second, changing the way he looked in more ways than one. His hair, once a dark brown, began to change as the color was burned away to reveal a shade of purple that looked like it belonged more on clothes than on a man's head. Lines of light carved their ways into his eye, the same color as the glow coming from the rest of the body, but the most interesting part of that was the rising magneta smoke that seeped from the edges of the eye patch, along with a steady trickle of blood.

"Fine! You've delivered your warning. Now listen to mine," Xander-sama said in a tone best coming the coldness of space. "If you thought that killing Slayers in front of me would be enough to make me run, you obviously don't know with whom you're FUCKING with. So let me introduce myself: Alexander LaVelle Harris, co-founder of the Scoobie gang, friend of the two oldest Slayers in centuries, best friend of the most powerful Wicca on the planet and co-founder of the New Watcher's Council. However the demons of the world have a different name for me… you may have heard it: Alexander the Reaper. Allow me to show you how I got the name."

Xander flung out his injured hand towards the sword case he'd carried from the wreckage of his car and, with a snap, it opened as though yanked by an invisible force. Then, one by one, the various blades rose up from the case into the air until they were all the same distance from the ground. At first she'd thought that he would then point them at the heartless murderer but instead they began to join together just like pieces of a puzzle. First the largest of the blades snapped together to eliminate the gap between the two halves and then a blade that had the hilt incorporated into the blade itself shot into a slot on the left side of the main sword. The second last sword with semi-circle grooves in the blade attached itself to the other side before the smallest sword, a short sword perhaps, folded its hilt around until it locked into place before taking a central position in the newly assembled weapon. With the fusion of swords complete, the great blade shot through the air only to slap perfectly into her ashikabi's burnt hand, causing the fingers to wrap tightly around the hilt.

_How… how can he LIFT such a large sword so easily?_ she thought in amazement for she could see no sign of strain on her ashikabi's face or body.

She wasn't given time to come up with an answer, though, as Xander charged the man responsible for the deaths of the teenager and woman. There was no fear in his movements, no clever strategy, only unrelenting determination to exact vengeance for the pain inflicted, be it physical or emotional. Immediately the gun wielding fake Sekirei adjusted the aim of both weapons to focus exclusively on the more dangerous threat but, when the girl fired, they were swatted to the side by the sword as easily as her throwing blades had been earlier. This did not stop the barrage of bullets but, considering their ineffectiveness, this hardly mattered for, once Xander came within range, he backhanded the fake to the side with the pommel of the sword, clearing the only obstruction to his target. The man, the murderer, looked surprised but not worried and it was this that proved to be a mistake as, with a single swing of the sword, her ashikabi severed the hand responsible for the two recent deaths.

Now THIS got a serious reaction out of the man, mixing both pain as well shock, not to mention a healthy dose of fear.

From that point on the fight got more serious, with the enemy now realizing that his life could seriously be in trouble, but the new appreciation of the threat only meant that a defense was now mustered. Slashes with the sword were either evaded outright or stopped before enough power and momentum could be gathered to execute the slash in the first place. So fast was the pace of the battle, something that went from street to rooftop to street at random, that she had to wonder what kind of person her ashikabi was. Regardless of who or WHAT he was, it was clear that victory would soon be his with the damage that was mounting on the murderer.

Sadly the gods must've determined that now was not the time for such a final fight to occur because, just as it looked like Xander would lunge in for the final blow, a bout of dizziness came over him. Her ashikabi tried to shake it off, to force a few more minutes of power, but his body would have none of it and so he was forced to use his sword to stay standing. As the glow surrounding Xander's body began to dim with ever-increasing speed so too did the wisp of smoke escaping from his eye patch taper off before disappearing entirely.

Seeing his enemy so weak, the murderer's malicious confidence returned along with the bloodthirsty smile.

"That power boost comes with limits, eh, Reaper?" the man asked rhetorically as he stood up straighter. "Still, I must say this is quite a surprise. Who would've thought the New Council's White Knight had such a secret! Almost makes me think that I should spare you just to see what my bosses think about the new info but, you see, I can't have it getting around that some white hat almost beat me, so I'm afraid you're going to have to die now. On the bright side, though, you'll be reunited with your two dead friends on the other side, so take what comfort you can from that. Veronica… kill him."

"My, my, my! This is quite a mess the two of you have made!" came a kind voice that sounded like it should come from a polite waitress. "I am afraid you will all have to stop now or else I shall be cross indeed."

Looking towards the source of the voice, they found a woman with hair only slightly different from Xander's new color standing at the entrance of the apartment building she and her ashikabi had been heading to before being intercepted. Wearing a white and purple version of the traditional miko attire, she looked relatively harmless, especially with the kind smile on her face, but then the sheathed katana was noticed. It wasn't a traditional one, since in its sheathed state it could easily be mistaken for a curved piece of wood, but she'd seen enough of this type to be able to identify it instantly. When the hair color was combined with the sword, she instantly knew there'd be trouble if the woman was pressed further.

"Go back inside, lady," the murderer said, not seeing the same warning signs. "This doesn't concern you. If you stick around, I can't promise that you'll make it out of this alive."

"Oh my! Such impolite words for someone who's caused such a commotion!" Purple Miko said with dismay before taking on a more serious look.

_FAST!_ was her only thought as the newcomer shot towards the man even faster than Xander had been moving a minute ago. In the time it took a person to blink, the swordswoman was behind the man, the blade of her katana at his throat with a threat that was clear as day.

"I suggest you leave and go home yourself, Rocker-san." Purple Miko said in a fear-inducing manner. "If you do not, I cannot promise you'll live another ten seconds."

"H-how?" the murderer asked with great surprise.

"Oh, and have the little girl leave her weapons here," the Miko said, bringing the edge of her blade closer to the murderer's skin. "She's much too young to be playing with such dangerous things."

"Veronica! Drop the guns! NOW!" the murderer ordered, realizing now his life was on the line.

Without hesitation the newly teened girl dropped her monster pistols to the ground before waiting for her next command.

With part of the 'requests' obeyed, the purple haired miko released her hostage but kept her blade ready just in case the man had a bout of the stupids.

"Now leave." the Miko ordered in a tone that could not be refused.

"Veronica! Withdraw!" the murderer said before running off with all haste possible.

"NO! C-can't let…Ronnie…get…" Xander protested as he tried to summon the strength to pursue but, as his legs gave out, even he realized this was clearly impossible.

"Xander!" she exclaimed, rushing to his side to tend to him.

"Now you, lady, if you would, help him come inside we can treat your wounds while you explain precisely what all this fuss is about." Purple Miko said as she sheathed her sword. "I will want ALL the details."

"O-of course!" she said automatically, not even considering saying no to the woman.

Getting under her ashikabi's sword arm, she added her strength to his, successfully managing to get him back to his feet. As the two of them followed their savior into the apartment building, they would later learn was called Izumo Inn, she could not miss the sadness in Xander's eye. He had watched two people he knew die right in front of him by a means most agonizing and watched a third taken away while he watched helplessly on.

He was hurt in mind, body and soul as a result.

It was then she promised herself that she would do whatever she could to recover the little girl from the clutches of her captor, if only to make some of the pain in her ashikabi's eyes go away.

_**Inside Izumo Inn, The Dining Room, Asama Miya's POV**_

She felt something from the young man as she tended his injuries but, as it was not the reaction a Sekirei had when they finally found their ashikabi, she was at a loss to identify it.

However the one thing she could say without question was that this young man was indeed what she had sensed enter the city all those weeks ago. It still surprised her, though, that what she had detected was a person rather than some sort of object or piece of technology, but in a way she felt it was better this way. If it had been a lifeless object then it was possible someone could steal it but, since it was a person, then it could fight back if threatened.

A fight that only the truly formidable could win if what she'd witnessed outside before making her presence known, was indeed as impressive as it had looked.

She had been in the kitchen cleaning up what was left of dinner when the first sounds of combat reached her ears and, while some might've been worried about momentary tremors and the sounds of destruction, she had only been mildly interested. While not everyone in the city knew of her past, all the major powers did and they knew better than to attack her or even start a fight on her doorstep. That left only newcomers and, if so, she would need to get their measure before she decided on the correctly measured response.

When she'd reached the end of the walkway bordering the street, she first identified the combatants and the parties involved. One party was made up of a Sekirei and her ashikabi, both of whom looked to be barely holding their own against their adversaries. The Sekirei with the number seventy-two tattooed on the shoulder had lost the use of one of her arms and was at least somewhat battered. The young man was in better shape but was only just managing to hold his own against his opponent. Silently she watched the battle progress but it was not until it neared the end that things occurred that cooled her emotions significantly. The first was the arrival of two newcomers, who sported an unfair advantage over the Sekirei and Ashikabi, who'd managed to eliminate one of their foes, by bringing firearms to the fight. Would the two have been able to manage if they hadn't been injured? Unlikely. By her measure, Sekirei seventy-two's weapons were inferior to the guns and, even if one of them played decoy, serious injury was inevitable. Perhaps even death if the child proved to have good aim.

It was the horrifying way in which the badly dressed man had killed two of his own people, though, that decided the matter of whether or not she would involve herself. The words he had spoken about her little brothers and sisters bothered her less because, ever since the ship had been discovered on Kamikura Island, outside sources had always been trying to acquire them for their own ends. But to execute two of his own, two who were fighting for him against their will, just to bludgeon the spirits of his enemy… that crossed the line.

Before she could act, though, the young man, the person who'd she'd thought was nothing more than an ashikabi, showed he had a power that few would ever suspect. With chilly words and a connection to his weapons, the young man had charged forth to deliver vengeance but she could tell that the frigid fury was hindering his moves. Her expert eyes could tell that he normally was more skilled but emotion was directing his actions now, not careful thought. Nevertheless, showing speed and strength consistent with a winged Sekirei, the fight was decidedly in the young man's favor until a sudden weakness overcame him. It had been then that she'd intervened and, with a level of killer intent she rarely showed, she 'persuaded' the foul man to withdraw.

For all of the murderer's arrogance, he proved he still had a functioning survival instinct by retreating.

"There! Now let's see to you, young lady," she said as she finished putting a splint on the man's broken arm along with a sling.

"Thanks for stepping in there, ma'am." the young man said with a half-smile of gratitude. "Sorry for making things so chaotic this evening."

"You're quite welcome!" she said, returning the smile with one of her own. "I could easily tell that you were the innocent ones in that fight and Izumo Inn will never deny aid to those in need."

"A good policy to have so long as no one takes advantage of it," the young man said nicely.

"No need to worry about that," she said before using the voice her husband had taught her to get her point across. "I make it quite clear when I think they're taking advantage of my generosity."

For a moment the one eyed man merely blinked for a few seconds before chuckling a bit and this caused her to stumble mentally as that hadn't happened since her first few attempts at imitating her husband's technique. Even those she had used it on often had not managed total immunity to it, so how was it that this person whom she'd never met before tonight could laugh at it?

"Nice 'scary voice' but it'll take more than that to send a chill down my spine," the young man said as his chuckling ended. "I've seen some truly scary things in my time… um… heh… what's your name again? I don't think I remembered to ask."

"Asama Miya is my name and this is my home Izumo Inn. And you are?"

"My name is Alexander Harris and this is Natsu." Alexander replied, using his working hand to gesture to himself then to his Sekirei. "Nice to meet you, Asama-dono!"

_He certainly is a nice young man!_ she thought, approving of his manners. _Still… my curiosity is not satisfied with just this._

Normally she was not the prying sort since she of all people knew the value of privacy and the desire for one's past to remain just that. The young man's hair, though, the power he'd brought forth to fight with, was just too big a mystery for her to simply let go without at least asking.

"If I might ask, though… what caused you to change so much at the end of the fight?" she asked somewhat tentatively since she could not determine a better way to phrase her inquiry. "It is not something that one commonly sees in this world."

For a moment Alexander seemed to hesitate but, with one look into her eyes, he reached a decision with regards to her inquiry.

"Well, if you want the full story, then I suggest you get comfortable because this'll take a while." Alexander said before getting comfortable himself. "It all started about eight years ago or so when my job took me deep into Africa looking for certain special young women. We basically give them an education and some specialized training and in return we only ask that they lend a hand when they can. While stressful at times, on that day I'd expected my assignment to be more of the same. I should've known that routine jobs rarely stay routine for long."

_**Eight Years Prior, Within the Country of Azania, Early Afternoon, Xander's POV**_

_Hang on, Alice!_ he thought as he pulled up to a local bar in his jeep.

It was almost two weeks since he started his search for the latest newbie Slayer that had had been awakened by Willow's spell but that was way too long in his mind. The teenager had been easy enough to find through the phone directory but that was where it stopped being easy. He'd arrived at the girl's home to find her parents seriously injured, the place clearly searched in a manner where leaving things in good condition wasn't a concern and no girl to be found. He'd immediately called for ambulances but it was still a near thing for both the parents because whoever had hurt them had chosen parts of the body that were notoriously hard to heal as well as potentially lethal. It wasn't until three days later that the father had woken up and regained enough coherency to answer questions. He'd used the white lie that he was part of the investigations team with the police to get a retelling of events and, once he had enough to pursue with, he was in his jeep and on his way. Following up on every lead, he made good headway but always seemed to be one step behind the kidnappers.

He had learned a lot about them though.

Much like the gang had feared in the early months, once word had gotten out that the formidable warrior that was the Slayer wasn't just a single girl but hundreds, if not thousands, assholes of all kinds popped up looking to make a profit off the once rare 'commodity'. Buffy and Willow had chosen to deal with this problem by reaching out to the law enforcement agencies and governments of the world to keep tabs on the criminal community's movements. Giles had used his contacts in the magical community to keep track of demonic politics and dark mages so they could send their growing resources where they'd do the most good. He, on the other hand… he had handpicked three Slayers he trusted, loaded up with enough weapons to outfit a full platoon of soldiers and gone hunting. They'd targeted human organizations that might think about adding newly Called Slayers to their inventory list and delivered a crystal clear message.

Slayers were off limits to the criminal world, on pain of DEATH.

For six straight months he and the three Slayers hit all the major players on their list until he'd been satisfied that the message was both understood and followed. Sometimes he had been forced to give refresher courses on why it was unwise to try and enslave, traffic or butcher Slayers but they'd been less and less frequent as time had passed.

_Looks like class is back in session,_ he thought as he got out of his Jeep and entered the bar.

According to what he'd found out, a man calling himself Serpent was behind the abduction and was considered quite the criminal businessman, preferring a hands on approach as opposed to managing things from the safety of an office. The man also preferred to handle 'special' acquisitions himself and a newbie Slayer who didn't have a clue what she could do would definitely fit the bill of special. If the people he'd chatted with could be trusted, then the man had at least ten minions with him, all armed with either an automatic or semi-automatic weapons. Not completely outside his ability to handle but he'd need to get the lay of the land so he could come up with a plan first. That was why he was stopping at the bar because it looked like Serpent was going to be sticking around the area for the foreseeable future. He needed to ask the local drunks what they'd heard and where he'd most likely find any prisoners. While the professionals were smart enough to watch what they drank, the rank and file subordinates inevitably stopped in places like this to wet their whistle.

_With a little luck I'll find someone with a loosened tongue who has useful info,_ he thought as his gaze panned across the collection of patrons. _Hmmmm…nice selection. First things first though. Gotta get me a drink!_

It was an unspoken rule in situations like this where there was a strong chance that he'd be causing problems for the owner of the establishment that he buy enough booze to offset the repair costs. After getting the attention of the bartender, he ordered a mug of one of their moderately priced beers, nursing it bit by bit once he got it as he tried to pick out the snake guy's minions. It took a few minutes but eventually he pegged the guys at the pool table as being the most likely suspects and so he casually moved over to a nearby table and sat down. Watching them discreetly, he tried to get the measure of each man to get an idea of what sort of people they were so he could play them properly and get the outcome he wanted.

Plus it'd be a little suspicious if he'd just gone right over to them.

Half an hour later, just as he finished the last drop of his beer, he walked over to the one that seemed to be the leader and got his attention.

"This game got room for one more?" he asked in a conversational tone of voice.

"Sorry, stranger, but this is a game for friends only," the leader said, politely trying to tell him to get lost.

Taking out a wad of the local currency, he began to flip through the pieces of paper making sure all of the guys around the pool table could see they were of high denominations.

"How much would it cost for you and me to be friends then?" he asked as he continued flipping through the money.

In anticipation of there being some necessary bribes along the way, he'd pulled out half of his budget for the month as the head of the African branch out of his account. He could tell just by looking at the minions that he had them on the hook and was reeling them in.

"Maybe this much a game," the leader replied, taking roughly five bills worth. "Sound fair?"

"Sounds perfectly fair," he replied, putting the rest of the money into his pocket.

_I figure this gives me enough money for six or seven games easy._ He picked up a pool cue and gave it a brief once over. _Add to that the odd round of beers and I should have no trouble getting any info worth knowing from these guys._

He'd have to be careful and not beat them too often, so any of the sneakier moves Giles had taught him at that one bar in Los Angeles would have to be held back.

Minutes became an hour and an hour became hours, but by the end he had gathered quite a bit of useful information, with the minions being too plastered to possibly give their boss an accurate description of who'd just played them like a violin. He knew where the Serpent was holed up, where the 'freak girl' was being held and where the group of kidnappers would be going next. Apparently the boss man had a buyer who was interested in owning a Slayer and was planning to meet with them at a meeting point two days away. When he'd inquired as to why they had to go so far to drop off some 'merchandise', the answer had been a bit vague but basically amounted to avoiding any police complications. Grab someone in one country then sell them in another. Serpent would be sticking around the town they were in for another twenty-four hours and then it'd be back on the road for everyone.

_Better move quickly to case the place where they're holding Alice._ he thought as he got into his Jeep and drove off as quickly as was safe, given his current state of intoxication.

Normally he wasn't a heavy drinker but he'd had to drink SOMETHING to avoid looking suspicious to the minions, so he was pleasantly tipsy but not so out of it that he couldn't drive safely so long as he forced himself to focus. It took a while but eventually he managed to get to the building he'd chosen from the map of the town as a good scoping spot and soon he was crouched by a window, using binoculars to examine every inch of the fenced area where Alice was being held. There were a few more people than he'd originally thought but not so many that he'd need to call in backup and, with such a large area, he didn't believe there'd be an issue getting around the guards. All he had to do was wait for nightfall to maximize his chances and then it'd be go time.

_**Present Day, Natsu's POV**_

"Weren't you scared about facing all those guns alone?" she asked, her mind racing as she reflected on the story her ashikabi was telling her.

Over the past few weeks she'd gradually learned more and more about Xander-sama but he'd never gone into any great detail about his past or what he did for a living. He'd give her bits and pieces of it but never enough to form a complete picture of things. The one time she'd called him on this fact, he merely said that to say more would be to divulge secrets that weren't his to speak about. Apparently that asshole spilling some of the beans had been enough to convince her 'partner' to elaborate on a few things.

"Of course I was scared, but the key to getting through situations like that isn't getting rid of the fear completely; it's being able to force yourself to get the job done despite being afraid." He took a sip of the tea Miya had given him. "The only kinds of people who wouldn't be afraid in a situation like that are the psychos and the fools, neither of which describes me…. for the most part anyways."

She giggled a bit at that since it was becoming something of a norm around her ashikabi that he often made jokes at his own expense to make her laugh.

"Anyways, once I'd made up a mental map of the place, I went to a nearby hotel, got a room and got some shuteye until an hour or so past sunset." Xander said continuing his story. "I figured by then the evening shift of guards would be starting to lower their guard. It'd still be tricky but my goal was to get Alice out of there, not fight every last scumbag there. Too bad it hadn't gone as smoothly as it'd sounded in my head."

_**The Past, Xander's POV**_

_So far so good,_ he thought as he slowly slipped through the hole he'd cut in the wire fence before putting everything back into its normal position. _Now I just gotta get to the back of that building there and I'll be halfway home._

It had been a bit of an adrenaline buzz to get from a nearby building across an expanse of open area to the fence he'd selected as his entry point but, seeing as how there'd been no alarms ringing, he took that as evidence that the bastards inside were still clueless. A couple of minutes with some wire cutters and he was inside but he didn't let his guard down just the same because it was usually when he let himself get complacent that bad shit started to happen. Creeping quickly enough to get to where he needed to go, but not so quickly that it'd attract attention, he made his way to the target building, making sure that any guards he came across were looking in the opposite direction before he moved.

All in all it took him the better part of twenty minutes for him to make it from the fence to the building and, once he got there, he pulled out his trusty Beretta M9. Giving it a once over to make sure that it was in pristine condition, he then crept to a window that'd caught his attention before taking out small mirror. Angling it just right he was able to see a reflection of what was on the other side of the glass without getting his head shot off, what he saw both troubled him and gave him some relief. Instead of being in the back room like he'd been told, she was right inside the window chained up like crazy but still in reasonable condition, all things considered. The bad thing was that, judging by the tattooed fellow in leather clothes, Serpent was in there as well and had an assortment of nasty looking things on a table within arm's reach.

_Probably planning on making sure she's all broken in by the time he passes her onto his buyer._ _I think I'll ruin his evening._

He was just about to jump through the window when out of nowhere three crimson dots appeared on his body, focused on his heart, his head and his gun hand.

"Drop the piece, Mister Harris," a sleazy sounding male voice said before a guy who looked the part of a successful merc stepped out of the darkness. "Do it now or die. It makes no difference to me."

Considering they had him dead to rights, he dropped his Beretta and slowly put his hands behind his head. The red dot that had been covering his gun hand vanished and seconds later a guard walked out from his hiding place to pick up the automatic handgun before backing away again.

"Smart move. Now let's go inside," the Merc said before shoving him in the direction of the building's front door. "The boss would like to have a word with you."

Lacking any options that left him in good enough condition to rescue Alice, he did as asked and soon he was looking the big man in the eye.

"You've been quite the determined pursuer, Mister Harris," Serpent said conversationally as he kicked open a nearby cooler before taking a can of beer out. "You're a credit to your organization. I've known agents of Interpol and the FBI who've not managed to keep up with me for as long as you have. Beer?"

"No thanks," he said, deciding that his usual tactic of antagonizing the bad guy would be hazardous to his health in this case.

"Suit yourself. Now, I can guess that you're here to try and rescue the newest member of your little army but I'm afraid I cannot let you do that." Serpent said before popping the can open and taking a mouthful of beer. "I've got a man who's willing to part with five million American dollars for this little lady and that's a sizeable amount of profit."

"What if I said I could double that if you let me and the girl go?" he asked tentatively as he tried to find some workable options. "Double your profits?"

"An interesting proposal and I must admit it's tempting," Serpent said, taking another gulp of his beer before belching, "however I'm afraid I must decline. It's bad business to break off a deal once it's been made, especially in the circles I travel in. I've already taken half my payment up front anyways, so we've already passed the point of no return."

"Breaking deals is usually a bad thing, I'll admit, but so is making the wrong kind of enemies," he said, trying to go the way of intimidation. "Do you really want to put yourself in the crosshairs of the New Watchers Council? Right now they don't know a thing, I decided to handle this assignment personally, but that could change depending on how this little talk of ours turns out."

"While it's true that your organization could become quite the dangerous foe, I don't think that'll happen for a few years yet. By that time I plan on having a fat Swiss bank account and a condo on the shores of some country without any extradition laws and an unfriendly attitude toward strangers." Serpent said as he finished his beer, tossing the can over his shoulder.

"You think my friends will care about extradition laws and a missing red carpet? You continue down this path, you'll be put on the 'someone to stop' list." he said, continuing his efforts to persuade the man to see reason. "You kill me and you'll be put on the 'someone we're gonna hunt down and flay alive' list. Trust me when I say that my bestest bud since footie PJs can do it at any speed she wants."

"Who said anything about killing you?" Serpent asked rhetorically, sounding quite surprised. "Don't mistake this conversation as a prelude to your execution, Mister Harris. I know full well what would happen if you were to die, even if it didn't make it to the local police department's attention. No, I think all we'll do is tie you to a chair, maybe inject you with a tranquilizer to put you to sleep for a few hours and then place an anonymous call to the authorities letting them know where to find you. By then my men and I will be too far away for you to catch up and, just in case you're wondering, the destination my brew-loving employees gave you is false."

_SHIT!_ he thought as he realized he'd been played from the moment he'd walked into the bar. _And here I thought I was being all sneaky and everything._

His mind racing to think of some kind of tactic that could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, he was forced to go with an option that would be as painful as it was successful. With careful movements he began to use his fingernails to scratch a symbol into the back of his head, hoping with every second that none of the crooks present would catch onto what he was planning. Fortunately it was only when he winced with pain as he scratched the final part of the symbol that Serpent caught on but by then it was too late. The magical sun rune was complete and, just like Willow had shown him, it lit up the room with light equal to a lit flare gun cartridge, blinding the unprepared people in the room. It wasn't pleasant for him as the rune burned like a hot brand to the back of his head, but he shoved the pain aside so that he could take advantage of the opportunity he'd made for himself.

Racing to Alice's side, he picked her up and thanked whatever god was listening for making sure Serpent didn't have the foresight to attach the chains to the floor, otherwise he'd have been in trouble. Jumping through the same window he'd planned on using earlier, he didn't let it disrupt his momentum any as he landed and began to make his way to where he mentally recalled seeing a truck earlier. His memory proved to be accurate and a minute later both he as well as Alice were inside, but it was also then that the sounds of many angry criminals reached his ears. Quickly checking all the usual places someone would leave their keys, he almost pumped his fist at his good luck at finding them on the second try but a gunshot that cracked the windshield stopped him. Starting the truck, he immediately peeled out of its parking spot and aimed the vehicle for the nearest wall, driving it through the wire fence and towards the closest road.

"W-who are you?" Alice asked after being silent for so long.

"I'm a friend, Alice. Name's Alexander Harris. Pleased to meet you!" he said with his usual lopsided smile, hoping it'd be enough to keep her calm.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking back and forth between him and the road ahead of them. "Are you taking me home?"

"That's the general idea, young lady, but we might have to take a few detours first," he replied, not deluding himself with the idea that Serpent would give up his payday that easily. "That okay with you?"

A nod was all he got in reply and to be frank it was better than he'd expected.

Still, despite the randomness of the turns he was taking, he could still hear the sounds of other vehicles pursuing him and he just knew they'd be expecting him to head back the way they came to return the girl home. That was the one thing he WOULDN'T do! Instead he would head northwest for a few days in the hopes of throwing them off the trail before circling around and taking Alice home. Plus he'd heard tell of an expanse of land that most people knew enough to steer clear of at all cost, so maybe if he went right to the border between Azania and that area, he'd get some breathing room. It was a faint hope and one that could backfire if he misjudged things but he'd take any help he could get at the moment, especially since he left most of his things behind.

_Hope Willow's anti-theft wards keep it safe or else G-Man'll kill me! _he thought as he caught his first glimpse of the edge of town.

_**Izumo Inn, Miya Asama's POV**_

"Oh my!" she gasped, enthralled by the story being told. "You must have been ever so scared."

"Oh, I was!" Xander said as he took another sip from his cup. "I knew all too well that the odds were against me. A dozen armed goons that had already proven they could get the drop on me and me with only a young girl to help me out? Not good odds, even for someone like me. I was pretty sure the only chance I had was to go into the area the locals steered clear of and hope that whatever kept them out was something me and Alice could survive."

_He is not telling me everything._ _However I don't think that he's trying to deceive me._

It was more like he was trying to protect someone by keeping certain details to himself and that was something she could respect, though she would press him if his secrets endangered the inn. After all, she had secrets of her own to keep in order to protect those living at the inn, so she would be something of a hypocrite if she tried to call him on it. For the time being she would listen to his story, judge it based on what he revealed and then decide what sort of person he was.

"I'd had a few ideas about what to expect going into that area but, when I finally got there, it wasn't anything close to them," Xander said as an introspective look came over his face. "If I'd known what I'd come across, I probably would've gone there anyway but I'd have picked one of the more maneuverable vehicles the scumbags had to offer."

_**The Past, Approaching the Forbidden Area, Two Hours Later, Xander's POV**_

_There it is! Right where the old lady said it'd be!_ he thought as he spotted the two trees that looked a lot like the hands of a skeleton. _Once I'm past that, I'm in the forbidden area she told me about. I just hope it's rep is creepy enough to make my pals stop following._

It was after all a crucial part of his plan that they come to a screeching halt while he proceed onwards.

If they kept on coming after him despite the rep… he'd think of something but he doubted it be pretty.

Watching as the spooky tree went by his window, he kept his focus on maintaining control of the vehicle since driving it off the beaten path was a lot harder than most people thought it was. He still kept an eye on his rear view mirror and evaded any explosives sent his way but did his best to stay on a straight path for his destination. There'd been a few close calls so far but, whether it was through luck or skill, he'd managed to evade it all so far but there was no way of knowing how long things would stay that way.

Five minutes of driving passed but, much to his dismay, Serpent and his minions were still in pursuit, so either they didn't know about this area's reputation or they didn't care. Either way he was in a bit of a pinch now since his best bet for escape had just gone up in smoke like a vamp at sunrise, so immediately he began to try and come up with another plan. He was pretty much helpless since he had to drive the truck and, if he stopped to see what kind of weapons could be found in it, he'd certainly get surrounded by his pursuers since they had enough vehicles to completely encircle him. Looking down at Alice, who seemed to be only just holding it together, he realized he was going to have to make this her baptism by fire if either of them were going to get out of this in one piece. He was just lucky that he'd been able to pick the lock on her chains one handed without losing control of the vehicle a couple minutes ago.

"Alice? …ALICE!" he yelled in order to get her attention. "I know you're scared and you have every right to be at this point but I need your help. I need you to look around for anything that looks like a gun or a weapon. Can you do that for me?"

Alice looked at him, looked right into his eyes, and for a moment he thought the fear he saw there would keep her from acting, but then like all Slayers a fire blossomed into existence. Immediately she began to look about the truck for what he'd asked for and, when nothing on either the passenger side or the driver's side looked right, she crawled into the back to look. It was a dangerous move since Serpent and his men could see her moving about, but he was banking on the fact that the merc boss wanted her alive so he wouldn't shoot to kill. People like that asshole don't give up a five million dollar payday lightly, so she'd be safe until someone got impatient or pissy. A minute or so later the sounds of searching ended and he hoped that meant that the newly Called Slayer had found something because, if that wasn't the case, then they really were up the shit creek without a paddle.

"I couldn't find a gun but will this work?" Alice asked as she held out what she'd found for him to see.

Glancing in her direction for a moment, he almost lost control of the vehicle for a moment when he saw her find because right then and there he was sure that the gods had taken pity on them. In her hands was a genuine RPG-30 and it looked to be in dusty yet reasonable condition, with everything needed for it to be used right where it should be.

"Yeah, that'll do just fine," he said with a grateful smile, "but I have my hands full at the moment so you'll have to be the one to use it."

"WHAT!? B-but I can't!" Alice exclaimed in shock at the very idea.

"Sure you can!" he said, trying to convey more confidence then he actually had. "You don't know it yet but you're a member of a sisterhood of warriors stretching back millennia. You've got strength in you! Besides, I'll talk you through how to use it, so as long as you listen everything will be fine. Okay?"

For a moment he thought he'd need to say more in order for her to find the courage to act but, when she turned to face the rear of the vehicle and braced herself up against the passenger side seat, he knew he could count on her. Step by step he walked her through how to prep the weapon to fire and, when all that was left to be done was press the trigger, he decided to add one final word reassurance.

"Just take a deep breath. Let go of your anxiety and your doubts. Then open your eyes and pull the trigger before either emotion can return. The rest will take care of itself."

_MAN! When did I learn to say something so cool?! _

Whatever the source of the words, they seemed to do the trick because the trigger got pressed and the projectile was launched into the air. A little over a second later it hit its target and, looking in the rear view mirror, he saw that one of the pursuing vehicles had burst into flame and, in a stroke of luck, two more vehicles crashed into it, leaving only three still in pursuit. For a fleeting moment it looked like Serpent and his boys were going to call it a day.

Lots of gunfire being sent his way was VERY convincing!

"Alice! Get down!" he yelled as he began to swerve the truck back and forth in order to make it harder to hit. "Lay down flat against the floor!"

Not looking back to see if she'd heard him, he continued to do what evasive driving he was capable of with the truck and his meager skills in the area. Speed was needed in order for evasion to work but in this terrain and in this vehicle, it made controlling the hunk of metal all the harder, especially when it felt like it'd tip over onto its side at any moment. Nevertheless, he didn't give up and continued to do what he could to evade the incoming fire without tipping over the truck, all the while hoping that he'd have a burst of inspiration on how to get out of this mess.

The burst happened, alright, but it wasn't a burst of inspiration though.

Instead something in the truck's engine burst and that caused smoke to seep out of every crack along with random leaves of flame that his eye could just barely spot. With noises that he knew weren't good, the truck came to a stop, so he abandoned the wheel and pulled Alice towards him so, if necessary, he could shield her body with his own. Once she was in his arms he slipped out the passenger side door with her since that'd put the truck between them and their pursuers. He didn't know what to do at the moment and he didn't have any weapons aside from his combat knife and that was only because he'd tucked it away in a place Serpent and his goons didn't think to check. He doubted that he was lucky enough that the bastards had run out of bullets just then and, even if they had, there was no telling how many men he'd be facing. With just a combat knife and a scared Slayer, he didn't like their chances on the fighting side of things and running wasn't an option since an automobile would beat a human without even shifting up to second gear.

_Guess this is the end,_ he thought as his brain finally gave up looking for a way out of the current situation. _Can't fight them all and hope to win. Can't run and expect to get away. All that's left is to take as many of these assholes with me as I can before going down for the last time._

Turning to look at Alice though a thought popped into his head.

_No. There is one thing I can do… something I MUST do! _"Alice, I want you to run! Get as far from here as you can! I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

"NO!" Alice screamed in rejection of his order.

"DO IT!" he yelled at her with all the urgency he could muster.

With only a single moment's hesitation the newbie Slayer took off away from the danger, leaving him to confront Serpent and his men alone. It was a pretty hopeless situation but he still did his best to convince himself that he might actually stand a chance of succeeding.

_It's not so bad. Maybe I can goad them into attacking me hand to hand,_ he thought as he heard some doors opening and closing. _If I take one down quick enough, I can grab his gun and use his body as a shield. Then I can duck behind the truck again and whittle them down one by one._

"You've really fucking taken a SHIT on my day, Harris!" Serpent yelled, sounding none too pleased by how things had gone. "I had a cool five million coming to me and then you had to come along and screw things up! You even killed half my men! YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU'VE COST ME!?"

"Not really, but I do know that this all could've been avoided if you'd just taken my offer." he said as he laid the seeds of his plan. "How about we settle this the same way, too? Just you and me? Winner take all?"

"You think you're good enough to take me, you little SHIT!?" Serpent asked, his fury as plain as day.

"I dunno, but I'd be real interested in finding out!" he yelled as he unsheathed his combat knife. "How about you? You man enough to step up?"

"I'm gonna cut you up and turn you into shish kabob!" Serpent yelled definitely, sounding like he'd accepted his offer.

"Here's hoping he's serious about using a blade, because it'd suck pretty bad if I got shot in a few minutes," he muttered before he stepped out into the open to face his foe.

As he cleared the truck, he was secretly relieved to see that Serpent had indeed taken him up on his offer and was standing away from his remaining men with a machete in one hand. The man looked as pissed as he'd sounded a few moments ago but that'd work in his favor since a pissed person was a careless person in his opinion. That'd increase his odds of survival and, with a little luck, the minions would scatter if their leader fell dead to the ground, allowing him to catch up with Alice.

_Why do I think it won't be that easy?_ _Oh that's right! Because I never get it easy! Well, here's hoping that whatever keeps sending this kind of luck my way wants me to live through this!_

Deciding to be the one to get things going, he lunged forward and immediately tried for a slash that would open up Serpent's throat. Sadly, while the bastard was pissed, he was still in possession of enough of his senses to be able to fight and easily evaded the attack. Seeing the machete blade coming at him from his left, he leapt back quickly, just barely avoiding having his stomach cut open but that just inspired Serpent to try again. This time he was able to bring his combat knife up to block it and thankfully his blade was the more durable of the two. Too bad that didn't save him from the boot the asshole slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him in the process. Fortunately for him it seemed that his opponent wasn't all that much stronger than your average human so he wasn't nearly as winded as he should have been. After years of fighting vamps, he'd reflexively tightened his abdominal muscles when his instincts had detected the kick coming at the last second. He'd still felt it but it hadn't hurt as much was it could've and he'd managed to keep at least some air in his lungs.

Not a lot of it but enough that when Serpent moved in, thinking he was helpless, he knew he had one chance to make use of this misassumption.

"Not so tough now, are ya!" Serpent said as he strode confidently forward. "Thought you could take ol' Serpent on your own. Ya know better now don't ya!?"

_Just a little closer,_ he thought as he played up the idea that he was still suffering the effects of the kick. _A little more…_

"Guess all that's needed now is to put an exclamation point on this little dust up and call it done." Serpent said coming to a stop less than three feet away. "I'd say 'see you later' but I think it's best if I just said 'goodbye, Harris'!"

He waited all of a second before he shot up from where he was on the ground, managed to get under the guy's double hand overhead chop swing and successfully slammed his knife into the asshole's heart.

"But I'm not going anywhere."

With that done he pushed the corpse off of his knife and did his best to look badass as he slid the blade back into its sheath. He knew he needed to look intimidating if he was going to pull this off, otherwise one or more of the currently gawking goons might get ideas of revenge. Thus he decided to cross his arms across his chest and deliver a line that practically gushed confidence in his opinion.

"Okay… who's next?"

Needless to say when looks of fury came over each formerly dumbfounded face and gun barrels began to swivel towards him, his instincts saved him again as scrambled to get back behind the truck. A good thing, too, since, after he'd slid to a stop, a hailstorm of bullets cut through the air where he'd been and didn't let up for a good minute. For a moment he thought that perhaps FINALLY they'd managed to run out of bullets but the kibosh was put on that when the barrage resumed. A detached part of his mind wondered why they were so intent on shooting THROUGH the truck when they could simply circle around but then the rest of his mind told that detached part to stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. The more bullets they wasted trying to blow away his only source of protection, the less they had to use against him and, if lady luck favored him for just a little while longer, there was a decent chance they'd run out of bullets. Then it'd be a type of fight he had a better chance of winning and walking (okay, maybe STUMBLING) away from in the end.

PLUNK.

"SSHHHIIITTTTT!" he yelled as he began to run as far away from the grenade that'd just come to a rest three feet from where he'd been crouching as he could.

He didn't know how far he'd managed to get before the grenade went off but he did know it wasn't far enough when pain peppered his back and upper right leg. It shattered his focus and the next step proved that his right leg could no longer support his weight as it gave out beneath him, sending him crashing to the ground. This only caused the pain in his back to intensify to the point where he began to see spots in his vision but he refused to go unconscious just yet. The longer these low lives kicked him around, the more time Alice had to get away and she was the only thing that mattered.

He was a Watcher.

A true Watcher is prepared to die to save his Slayer if that was what it took.

With a single jerking motion he managed to roll himself onto his back and, through sheer will alone, he kept himself conscious until it subsided. Weakly taking his combat knife back out, he gripped it by the tip of the blade and prepared to throw it at the first scumbag to show himself. It was the best he could hope to do in his current condition and he hoped it'd be enough to keep their attention focused on him rather than slide back to Alice.

However, just as he saw two sets of feet about to clear the truck, something happened that he could not have foreseen.

_**The Present, Izumo Inn, Xander's POV**_

"What happened?" Natsu asked clearly hanging on his every word.

"Turns out I got saved at the last second by a tribe that had been living in that area for centuries," he replied, trying to give as much of the truth as he dared. "Not xenophobic or anything… more like no entry without an invite kind of people. They'd spotted the trucks and jeeps the second we'd crossed over their border and then the lightshow with the RPG. One of their sentry teams had come across Alice and, after the girl insisted they come help me, they'd obliged saving my bacon completely."

He couldn't tell them the whole truth no matter how much he knew both Natsu and Miya wanted it because, ever since that night, he had an entire boatload of secrets that weren't his alone to tell. The people that'd helped him out that night had kept themselves secluded from the rest of the world for centuries for a reason and, once he'd been let in on what that reason was, he couldn't say he blamed them. If the rest of the world knew the truth of that small patch of real estate in the center of Africa, there'd be nothing to stop the rest of the world from tearing it apart in order to get their 'fair' piece. Considering he owed them his life, Alice's life and a bunch of other favors since, then he'd sooner die under painful torture than let that happen to them.

"How does that explain what you did out there with the glowing and the smoke?" Natsu asked, zeroing in on the reason for the story in the first place.

"Well, during the time the tribe's medicine woman tended my injuries, she apparently came across some kind of spiritual blockage that she said was seriously impeding my insides. So she did her thing and then, WHAM, I have a new hairdo and eye color. Didn't find out about how big of a power boost until one of their warriors decided to rub my face in how badly I'd gotten my butt handed to me. He wasn't so mouthy towards me after that fight."

That was the truth.

After he'd gotten pissed and taken it to Adeola, the high and mighty warrior hadn't said a single word to him ever again. Whether that had to do with the broken jaw or the OTHER thing he couldn't really remember to be perfectly honest.

It'd been a rather busy and quite hectic at the end part of his life.

"So after I'd recovered enough to make my way out of their territory on my own power, Alice and I walked out of there, with her hometown being our destination," he said, skipping over a FEW things that had happened. "Her parents smiled for the entire day when they saw Alice again. I gave them a few days to celebrate before filling them in on the organization I work for and what we were willing to offer the little lady. With all the bills from the hospital and the work that needed to be done on their home, it must've looked like quite the opportunity to them."

Indeed, with his expert carpenter's eye and past experience when it came to replacing broken items, he'd been able to tell from day one that if the family's insurance didn't cover B&amp;E, then it'd be tough on them. In the end he'd dipped into his own personal account to take care of their medical bills and take a chunk out of the costs of fixing everything at their home. He'd done it anonymously, of course, but he'd learned later that Alice had suspected that he was the 'secret benefactor' from the beginning and just hadn't said anything. Still, the girl had been enthusiastic during the first few months of her training, as if she were determined to be the best Slayer she could be and seemed to be extra spunky if she knew he was in the room watching.

"Since then I've used what others have called Hyper Mode only when I absolutely have to," he said as he finished his cup of tea. "It might allow me to kick the butts of most people but it has a time limit. At best I can manage six or so minutes of it before my body just gives out. I've been trying to extend that time with training and exercise but nothing's worked so far."

It was true.

Since he'd first gone into Hyper Mode, he'd been using various methods to try and extend the amount of time he had but it never went beyond the seven minute mark. There were several theories on why this was the case but the most common factor was that whatever energy empowered him was a fixed amount that needed some unknown factor to increase its capacity. He'd been keeping an eye out for anything that looked promising but, after that close call with the Orb of Oshun that he'd mistaken for an arcane power amplifier… yeah, the less said about that adventure the better.

"Well, as much as I appreciate the good tea and conversation, Asama-san, I think it's best if me and Natsu were on our way," he said, deciding it'd be best to vamoose before the owner of the inn got 'persuasive'. "We've got some stuff to pick up and plans to make. I don't want to make Veronica wait any longer than I have to."

"Understandable," Miya said as they both rose to their feet. "I wish you well with your efforts, Xander-dono, and know that if you ever need a place of safety, Izumo Inn is available."

"Thanks. I'll that that under—" was about as far as he got because, the moment their hands clasped for a shake, a bolt of energy shot through the both of them.

To Natsu it might've looked like the two of them were being electrocuted but, the truth of the matter the source of their trembling was more mental than physical. Inside his mind images, sounds, smells, tastes and many other things were whipping by at a speed so great that he almost couldn't comprehend them. It took ten seconds before he was able to comprehend that this info wasn't coming from him but rather from Miya and another fifteen before he could make any real chronological sense out of them. In the end the information overload proved to be too much for either of them and so, like someone pressing a button, unconsciousness claimed them both.

His last sight before going to lala land was Natsu stupidly trying to catch both of them, even though one of her arms was seriously hurt.

_I'll have to tell her off about that when I wake up._

_**An Hour and a Half Later, Kitchen, Matsu's POV**_

"Miya-tan…" she said as she watched fresh cold water drop into the metal bowl she'd been using for a little over an hour.

It had been a shocking sight an hour and a half ago when she'd watched through her cameras as both Miya-tan and Xander collapsed to the ground, with only number seventy-two Natsu to catch them. Completely forgetting the fact that she was in hiding, she'd run down the stairs as quickly as she could in order to see for herself if Miya was okay. When she'd gotten there, she'd ignored the visiting Sekirei's inquires and instead focused on the landlady's vitals as best she could without the right equipment. While there was a somewhat elevated heartbeat, increased breathing and a slight fever, she had been unable to find anything seriously wrong with her old friend. It had only been then that she'd acknowledged the guest Sekirei, who'd split her attention between the ashikabi and her, so that she could make checking Xander's vitals easier. Fortunately once she'd made it clear that she only intended to check the ashikabi, the feeling of defensiveness went down to barely a murmur. Once she'd found that Xander was in the same reasonable condition, she'd immediately gone to the kitchen to get two bowls, fill them with cold water and take them, along with two face cloths, returned to the dining room. For the last hour and a half she and Natsu had been using cold compresses to keep the fevers of their respective friends under control.

It was all they could do with what little medical knowledge they possessed.

It had been her hope that both unconscious people would be back on their feet inside of an hour but that time had come and gone.

_If they don't wake up in another hour, I might have to call Takami-tan,_ she thought as she walked back to the dining room where the ailing duo had been made comfortable.

She knew it'd be dangerous given that the woman still worked for MBI, the very organization she was hiding from, but her specialty was electronic information, not medicine. If it turned out that what was assailing Miya-tan and Xander-tan was something serious, then she had to exhaust every possible resource before their condition went too far. Miya's position as the unofficial ruler of this region of the city was dependant on the fact that she could and would use force on any who broke her rules. If the people in charge of the other three regions learned that the Hanya of the North was vulnerable, they would almost certainly make moves to expand their territories. Should that happen, there'd be precious little that could be done to stop them since Miya-tan exclusively handled repelling such threats in the past alone. She could only handle electronic warfare and that would be poor defense against a physical attack and while Kagari-tan could fight, that power was unstable at best. If pushed too far, the flames would go completely out of control, immolating the Sekirei in the process, leaving the northern region completely void of defenders.

That would hurt Miya-tan more than anything.

As she entered the dining room, she could see Natsu diligently tending to her ashikabi despite her own injured state and it made her wonder if that would ever be her. It was every Sekirei's wish to find their precious person, their ashikabi, and, through the bond they forged, enjoy a life neither could have experienced alone. It was unlikely due to the fact that she had to stay hidden away in Izumo inn due to her status with MBI so, unless her precious person became one of the residents, she was out of luck. Still, she couldn't help but dream and make plans just the same. After all, she had all sorts of 'experiments' she wanted to try out and they could only be done with her ashikabi in order for her to get accurate data.

_Perhaps with a little creative hacking, I can arrange for some candidates to come here,_ she thought idly as she thought of how to hack various computers to get that result. _A bank hack here, a rewriting of some files there and I could make it happen._

Giggling at the possibilities, she almost missed the change in Miya-tan's breathing but see it she did and, as sluggish movement followed, she knew that she wouldn't need to call Takami now. With fluttering eyelids Miya awoke and, while it took a moment, recognition soon lit up the landlady's eyes as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"Miya-tan! Are you alright?" she asked, desiring the woman's verbal confirmation.

"Y-yes… I believe so, Matsu-san." Miya replied as strength rapidly returned to her body. "Xander-san?"

Turning her head to look at the ashikabi, she smiled as she began to see signs of returning consciousness as well, albeit a bit slower than Miya did. Nevertheless, number seventy-two Natsu was overjoyed at seeing Xander-san beginning to awaken and that was enough for her.

"Uhhhh… anyone get the number of that bus that got dropped on me?" Xander-san muttered as he sluggishly mirrored Miya-tan's actions.

"Xander-sama!" Natsu exclaimed before wrapping her good arm around her ashikabi. "I was so worried!"

"Well, I'm alright, Natsu." Xander-san said softly and reassuringly. "Well, as alright as I can be with burns, broken bones and stuff. Whatever hit me may have knocked me for a loop but doesn't look like any permanent damage was done."

"While I agree that neither of us seem to have been seriously harmed, whatever we went through was not without consequences." Miya-tan said giving the young man an odd look. "Did you see…?"

"Yeah. It all went by a little too quick for me to understand everything, though," Xander-san replied with a somewhat guarded version of Miya's odd look. "It'll probably take some time for both of us to sort through everything. I hope you'll clear it with me before you tell anyone anything."

"So long as you do the same that is fine with me," Miya-tan said with equal hidden meaning.

"Not a problem," Xander-san said as he slowly got to his feet. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to pick up a few things before the cops start sniffing about. Hopefully they haven't already or else things're gonna get complicated for me."

"I would not be too concerned about that," Miya-tan said with a smile. "The man they now answer to will likely ensure that they do not touch your belongings."

Those words caused a look of recognition to flare up in Xander-san's eyes but that didn't make any sense since Miya-tan hadn't used Minaka's name or referred to MBI's recent efforts to buy up everything in the city. While Miya and Xander had been talking with one another, she'd been using her systems to gather as much information as she could about the ashikabi both through MBIs ultra top secret databanks as well as elsewhere. She hadn't been able to get much due to the fact she hadn't been given much time but she knew for a fact that the man had only set foot in Japan within the last couple weeks or so. He'd also been an ashikabi for roughly the same amount of time so, while Minaka had almost certainly given him the basics of the Sekirei Plan, she doubted whether the unique young man knew everything.

So how could he know that Minaka had enough pull with the police to control their actions?

"Still, I need sleep and I can't have that until I'm sure I have everything hidden away that needs to be hidden away." Xander-san said as he began to walk towards the hallway with Natsu following close behind. "Expect me when you see me, Miya-san!"

With those words the Sekirei and her ashikabi were gone, leaving only her and Miya-tan in the dining room, with the latter pouring herself another cup of tea. Amidst all this, her curiosity was aflame as she tried to figure out what had happened and what the two formerly unconscious people had been talking about.

"What happened Miya-tan?" she asked, hoping that the landlady would satisfy her curiosity. "Did he somehow see your thoughts?"

"It's impolite to ask questions about a lady's personal affairs, Matsu-san," Miya-tan said with the same voice that never failed to cause fear to spike within her.

"Um…I think…I left something running in my room…" she managed to stutter out before running out of the room. "BYE!"

Not stopping until she'd gotten into her room and slammed the door shut, she made a mental note not to meddle in any future interactions between Xander-san and Miya-tan. Whatever had happened, the landlady obviously considered it personal and that made it completely off limits to her usual inquiries and research. She seriously didn't want to be kicked out of Izumo Inn, if for no other reason than the only other refuge was with that bum Seo and she did NOT want to have to live with that pervert and his two Sekirei if she could do anything to avoid it.

That man only got by through sponging off others and never met a set of tits he didn't want to grope.

She couldn't help but shudder in revulsion at the imagery her mind came up with at the very idea of having to move in with him.

YUCK!


	4. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They belong to their creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my work. Therefore I would appreciate it if no legal action were taken against me. I can promise that you wouldn't make back even a tenth of your legal fees.

_**Watcher's Council Warehouse Safe House, Three Days Later, Early Afternoon, Xander's POV**_

_NOTHING! DAMMIT!_ he thought as yet another attempt by him to get in touch with the Cleveland branch of the Council came up empty. _Just how far is Willow planning on taking this?!_

He'd been trying for the last two days to get in touch with them so he could arrange for safe teleportation of Caridad and Dana's remains back to the branch they'd been assigned to for burial. While technically he could've called any branch of the Council to receive the remains, it had been a long standing sign of respect to send them to their comrades or to the location closest to their families. In the case of the two that he'd seen incinerated, though, they had no family outside of the Council and that meant that the Council was their family. However, despite his efforts, no number related to the Cleveland branch of the Council would connect and any emails he tried to send bounced back like he'd typed in the wrong address, even though he knew for a fact that they were right. The only possible answer to this that he could think of was that Willow had used her influence with the IT department to change the email addresses and input some sort of screening program on the phone network. How she managed that even with the store bought cell phones he'd never figure out but what it did mean was that he wouldn't be able to do what he wanted.

_Still, it'd be best to get Dana and Caridad's remains out of the city sooner rather than later,_ he thought as he began dialing another phone number. _I don't know if that bastard or his bosses intend to retrieve the remains of their test subjects but I won't allow them to defile the girls any more than they already have._

The phone ringed a total of three times before it was picked up, probably indicating that things were a bit busy back at the African branch of the Council.

"You've reached Abena's House of Pain!" declared the teenage girl on the other end of the connection. "We guarantee you'll be screaming inside of five minutes!"

"Would that be a scream of pleasure or pain, Abena?" he asked casually but with a smile on his face. "Cause I gotta tell you I'm pretty sure I told all of you that I'm not into pain."

"BOSS! Hey everyone, it's XANDER!" Abena yelled at what had to be the top of her lungs judging by how his ears were ringing. "How's it going, Boss?"

"Fine, though you really need a refresher on phone call etiquette," he said jokingly before getting down to business. "Is Ayotunde awake? I need him to activate the connection between teleport circle JP9 and the African branch HQ where you guys are."

"What's up? Need us to send something over?" Abena asked, sounding like her curiosity had been piqued.

"More like I need protocol RIP zero-one-one-zero enacted," he replied with a somber voice as he looked at the two plastic bags that contained as much of Caridad and Dana's remains as he'd been able to recover.

"W-what? Who?!" Abena asked in shock and worry.

"Caridad and Dana," he replied with all the emotion required for the loss of two friends.

While the two of them hadn't been assigned to the African branch, there had been times in which they'd come to Africa either to deliver important files or when a target fled into his territory. During those times they'd gotten along with his Slayers just fine and had even stuck around to learn a few new moves. Unlike the other branches there was no real weapon that was off limits for him when it came to instructing the Slayers under his care. If for some reason he wasn't all that skilled with a particular weapon, he did his best to find someone in the know that was and then hire them to instruct the Slayers. They had to pass certain security checks and then pass the acid test of first experience with the supernatural, but assuming nothing bad came up they began teaching as soon as possible. Melee weaponry, projectile weaponry, firearms, explosives and other things were incorporated into the teaching schedule. They weren't taught EVERYTHING since to do so would take years and years to master but what they were taught would be enough to help them in the field when necessary. He took part in these classes when possible but the job of head Watcher for an entire region kept him pretty busy, so he was a good three or four weapons behind everyone else as a result.

Caridad... Dana… Veronica… all of them had come for one reason or another and, while they were never able to stay long enough to learn even a single one, they'd still been considered friends.

"How… how did it happen?" Abena asked, clearly affected by the loss of a sister.

"I can't go into too much detail even over this phone. Powerful people might be listening in," he said, not sure if the idiot from MBI might eavesdrop or the monsters he'd fought either. "All I can say is that it wasn't pleasant and that I plan on paying back the people responsible tenfold. Before that, though… Caridad and Dana need to be properly tended to."

"Ayotunde! Get your lazy ass out of bed! RIP zero-one-one-zero!" Abena yelled, albeit with her mouth further away from the phone this time. "He's on his way, Boss. Teleport will be ready in fifteen minutes."

"I'll be ready on my end," he said, already having taken out the necessary arcane artifacts and ingredients for the procedure.

"Um… if you don't mind me asking, Boss, why are you sending them here?" Abena asked, clearly uncertain if she was treading on fragile ground or not. "Last I heard they were assigned to the Cleveland HQ."

"Um… they're experiencing some… technical difficulties there," he said, deciding at the last minute not to reveal the argument that had taken place. "So I decided to send them to you instead until things have cleared up there. Not a problem is it?"

"Of course not! They'll be kept properly until Cleveland is available." Abena said as though the idea of there being a problem was ridiculous.

"Thanks Abena," he said with true gratitude.

Until the remains of both Caridad and Dana were safely out of the city, he wouldn't be able to focus on things that really needed his attention.

"Anything else you need help with, Boss?" Abena asked casually.

"Yeah. Don't ask me why but put every Slayer base in Africa under KNAB yellow alert," he said, worried that the bastards responsible for what happened to Caridad and Dana might try reaching further. "It might be for nothing but better safe than sorry."

"Consider it done. They'll all be on yellow alert within twelve hours." Abena declared in a tone that would not be denied.

"Good. Expect me when you see me!" he said before ending the call.

Moving over to the teleport circle, he began to employ each artifact and ingredient as he'd been taught in order to activate the runes that comprised it. Once that was done he began the chant to establish the connection between the two circles and, just like clockwork, Ayotunde did the same, making the link up happen that much smoother. Less than five seconds later magic surged through the circle and the plastic bags containing the bones and ashes of Caridad and Dana disappeared. Almost immediately following this the power and the light left the runes returning them to a fancy looking floor pattern to the untrained eye.

_Now that that's out of the way, it's time to try and find that bastard Razor so I can pound some answers out of him,_ he thought as he tested his formerly broken arm. _Almost all better. That shit Bohlale gave me, the recipe for actually works as advertised. Another twenty-four hours of drinking the stuff and it'll be all fixed._

The concoction was a mix of a variety of herbs, both common and exotic, that Bohale had come up with after giving him a once over with his arcane talents. The old goat had assured him it'd accelerate his natural healing by a factor of three but had warned him to not use it too often since it put something of a strain on the system. The stuff definitely had a kick to it after the first gulp but, so long as it did its job, he'd bear with it. He couldn't afford to be at anything less than full strength for too long because, the longer he stayed on the bench, the more Veronica would suffer while under Razor's control and that was NOT permissible. At present he'd still go out in a bit to look for information along with Natsu since he still didn't have an HQ location for the bastard or a proper ID for his employers. Once he had solid leads he could act on, he'd follow them and do whatever he had to in order to bring himself one step closer to saving the little Slayer.

_You bastards better enjoy your lives while they last because when I find you I will END THEM! _

_**After Sunset, A Sidewalk in the Business District of Shinto Teito, Natsu's POV**_

"Sorry about making you do some footwork, Natsu," Xander-sama said as they walked along with the rest of the pedestrians. "Until I finish settling things with the scrap heap that used to be my rental car, no other business is willing to let me have another."

"I don't mind," she said, liking the closeness that was possible by walking side by side with him. "It's easier to search for something when you don't have to worry about crashing into something."

Plus it allowed her to cuddle with her ashikabi without the gear shift or the seatbelts getting in her way, so she definitely preferred this way of getting around. The only thing that might be better than walking with him would be if he got a motorcycle because then she'd be able to get on behind him and wrap her arms around him. After all, while they were no longer the strangers they'd once been, Xander-sama still hadn't told her where he was staying or even trusted her enough to show her where he was staying. She'd tried to call him on it a few times before but all he said was that his job was big on confidentiality and that he couldn't let just anyone into the building he was staying in. Naturally she'd gotten a bit upset at his words since, from her point of view, she was not 'just anyone' and in the end he'd asked her to give him some time to think it over.

While not the answer she would have preferred, at least it wasn't an outright refusal so she would wait patiently for the day het let her get closer, both figuratively as well as literally.

At present they were combing the streets looking for the monster that had killed two people Xander-sama considered friends or clues that might lead them to that wolf in human clothing. According to her ashikabi, they'd first just walk about the area and act like bait in the hopes that their opponents of three days ago decided to go another round with them. Xander had many weapons hidden beneath his coat and had the large sword case strapped to his back, disguised to look like a guitar case. It was a little charred thanks to the energy attack that'd hit it but not enough to throw away since it could still do the job it was designed for. The second Razor and Veronica attacked, she and her ashikabi would lead them to some place isolated area before moving onto phase two.

Phase two was the deployment of weapons and tactics consistent with taking their attackers alive, albeit for differing reasons. Veronica they'd be taking alive in the hopes that her free will could be returned to her, as well as the incineration mechanism removed from her body. In the case of Razor, though, he'd be captured solely as a possible source of information and then, once they had everything the bastard had to offer, they'd end his life, avenging those that had been slain by him. Two thirds of the weapons Xander had hidden on his person were designed for non-lethal apprehension of a target while the remaining third were of a decidedly lethal nature. All of the remaining third were high caliber in nature, with three clips worth of armor piercing rounds for each weapon in order to make sure they'd do their job. Combined with the swords in the case and her own knives, they'd be ready for just about anything, especially since she now had a better idea of what they'd be fighting.

_If they try to overwhelm us, though, we'll have to pull back, _she thought as she continued her casual looking about. _If three were enough to give us trouble, anything more than that would be impossible._

She'd had her stockpile of blades replenished by MBI as usual and naturally they were concealed beneath her own coat since anything less would lead to a breach the confidentiality rules. No one not involved in the Sekirei plan could know of it or even suspect that it existed in the first place, therefore walking around with weapons exposed was considered a violation. Some Sekirei, she imagined, had no choice but to carry them out in the open due to their sheer size or the lack of ways to feasibly disguise it, but those exceptions were few indeed.

_I'm gonna need to train harder from now on,_ she thought, remembering how she fared against Caridad and Dana. _Even if they weren't as powerful as winged Sekirei, they were still strong. I need to be better if I'm to keep Xander-sama safe._

Her injured arm was still sore so the training she'd done the last few days had been primarily focused on using her one good arm, but that only helped her progress. Normally with her training she'd have made sure to keep the balance between her right arm and her left arm so as not to be weak in either, but at the moment that was impossible. Thankfully for her Sekirei were quick to heal and in three days she expected her injured arm to be perfectly ready for battle. Once it was all healed she would add it to her training regime until everything was as good as she could possibly make it so that none would be immune to being pierced with her blades. Even if they wore armor she'd find a way to locate the weak spots and then target them with everything ounce of strength or skill she possessed.

She would protect her ashikabi!

"IIIYYYYYAAAAAA!" came a scream of fear from a nearby alley.

Without a second of pause Xander-sama dashed across the street, nimbly avoiding any cars coming or going, before entering the alley the scream had come from. Using the superior strength, speed and agility that all Sekirei possessed, she managed to catch up with him swiftly, allowing them both to proceed towards the cry for help. Two turns later they finally arrived at their destination and the sight she beheld with her ashikabi was one that brought both of their brains to a boil.

On the ground and scrambling to get away was a girl with light brown hair with blue ribbons running through her tresses. Clad in a thigh length, tight white gown and black stockings as well as black long gloves, it was clear that the young woman wanted nothing to do with the man advancing on her. The man, on the other hand, middle sized as well as in his twenties, had brown hair and was dressed in jeans as well as a green pullover. Just by looking she could tell that the guy was an asshole of the worst kind and that made her choice all too clear.

Too bad Xander-sama beat her to it.

"I don't know who you are, buddy, but I think it's pretty obvious that the girl doesn't want anything to do with you." Xander-sama said in a casual yet firm tone of voice. "Show you have at least some brains and leave. Now."

"This doesn't involve you, shithead!" the pullover guy growled, only sparing a sneering glance at her ashikabi, "Go someplace else if you want that bitch of yours to blow you!"

This pissed her off as on emotion alone she began to take off her jacket just so she could show this asshole just how precise she could be with her throwing knives. However, when she began to hear some rather creepy chuckling coming from Xander-sama, she paused out of puzzlement since she'd never seen him like this before.

"Ya know, I was planning on letting you walk away from this with just a stern warning, but then you just HAD to say something like that," Xander-sama said in a slightly disturbing manner. "Now? Now I'm angry and trust me when I say you're not gonna like what an angry me is capable of."

"What the fu-" was all the foul young man was able to get out before a powerful right hook slammed into his jaw, sending him spinning into the alley wall.

"Now, now, now! Don't you know it's not proper to use swear words in front of ladies?" Xander-sama asked rhetorically as he advanced on the thuggish man. "Sure, if they start doing it first then you have a little leeway but it's never right to be the first one out of the GATE!"

This final word punctuated with a swift kick that knocked the offensive man off his feet and onto his back in a rather painful manner. This was proven by the groan and the slow movements that the brute made as he pushed himself into a sitting position. The jerk only got halfway there though before her ashikabi slammed his booted foot down onto his chest, sending him back to the ground HARD!

"Still, it's also rude to make them see someone get the crap beat out of them. They have such a delicate constitution after all," Xander-sama said with mock concern. "So I'll be a nice guy: leave now and with a little luck I'll forget you ever existed."

As soon as her ashikabi raised his foot the bully immediately scrambled to his feet and, for a moment, she thought that the guy would finally grow a brain. Instead the idiot pulled out a knife and, with a desperate look, began to lunge forward, no doubt to hurt her ashikabi, but this time it was she who would be putting a stop to the idiot's stupidity. Pulling out the two throwing blades that were easiest to access with her coat on she threw them with expert precision at two separate targets. The first pierced the wrist that connected the knife hand to the jerk's arm, causing him to drop the knife out of pain. The other one sank into the thigh of the leg the fool had been about to put some weight on, thus resulting in the young man crashing to the ground screaming in pain.

"Nicely done, Natsu," Xander-sama complimented with a smile on his face. "Good placement on the knives. Nowhere near major arteries but still capable of doing the job."

"Thanks, Xander-sama!" she said, beaming at the praise she had received.

"Now, since it looks like you don't have any intention of leaving, we'll be the ones to leave," Xander-sama said before walking over to the young woman still on the ground. "Need a hand getting up, miss?"

Watching as her ashikabi extended his hand to help the young woman to the ground, she made sure to glance at the jerk every so often to make sure he didn't snap completely and do something crazy. After all, the idiot had defied common sense and intelligence so far, so why should he suddenly change his ways now? It was due to this division of attention that what happened next almost occurred without her realizing what was going on or what was about to happen. One second her ashikabi had successfully helped the unsteady young woman back to her feet and the next the same young woman had one hand behind Xander-sama's head with her lips pressed to his. She was about to vent her outage when something happened that she had not seen before but had always heard about happened before her eyes.

Springing from the young woman's back were multiple blade-shaped feathers of pale blue light moving in accordance to some unseen wind, before vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.

"I pledge my loyalty to you, my ashikabi," declared the young woman with utmost commitment. "Now and forever."

"Huh," Xander-sama said with a hint of surprise. "Wasn't expecting that."

_**A Short While Later, Xander's POV**_

"So your name's Yashima, huh?" he asked rhetorically as they all walked casually down the sidewalk. "Cute name."

Watching as his newest Sekirei blushed at the compliment even as Natsu seemed a little annoyed, he had to wonder what he'd done to inspire this sudden turn of events. Contrary to what some might think, he was not oblivious to the fact that Natsu had been making romantic advances towards him almost from the day he had 'winged' her. They were the advances of someone who only knew romance through books, TV and movies but advances nonetheless. Obviously whoever had been behind their education had gone with the text book version of the real world rather than allowing the Sekirei to experience it firsthand like a normal human. As such he imagined that all of the Sekirei were naïve as to the realities of the world and thus would be unprepared to face its darker side. In particular the fact that not all humans were nice and there existed some were no better than the vampires he so despised. From what he'd been told, Sekirei experienced a physical reaction when they encountered someone capable of becoming their ashikabi but this was based on biological compatibility according to Natsu.

Biological compatibility was a poor way to find a partner, a friend and potentially a future spouse, depending on how things transpired.

Personally he didn't believe in the whole spiel about how certain bits of information in your DNA could determine if you had a predisposition towards certain behavior and they most certainly didn't tell you the whole story about someone. There were things you could only learn about someone by actually talking to them, spending time with them and using the brain God gave you to determine if you should trust what your senses are telling you about the person. Considering that Yashima had likely been minutes away from being forcibly winged by that asshole in the alleyway because she'd thought he was her destined ashikabi… yeah, this had the potential to go seriously bad.

So while he was flattered that both Sekirei felt that way towards him, it didn't feel right to take advantage of their innocence by responding to their romantic overtures.

At least not until they got to know each other better that is.

But that would have to wait until later.

Looking at Yashima, he noticed that she was a little dirtied up from her encounter with the jackass in the alleyway and it was drawing some stares from the other pedestrians. While he didn't think the man they'd left bleeding in the alleyway was going to try to follow them to get revenge, he also preferred to blend in with the crowd if at all possible.

"You look like you could use a fresh set of clothes and maybe a shower," he said after obviously giving her a once over visually. "Do you live near here? We can stop by there so you can freshen up if you want?"

Then, much like he'd seen many young ladies do, Yashima looked rather self-conscious about her looks on a level consistent with being in the presence of someone she liked.

"Y-yes. I was on my way to work when… when he…" Yashima replied, sounding like she still wasn't completely over what'd happened. "It's only a couple of blocks away."

"Lead the way," he said with a reassuring smile on his face.

A smile with some serious wattage blossomed on the brunette's face and, while he'd do his best not to lead her on, he was glad he could cheer her up. It was one of his many roles, to distract people from the troubling things they'd recently been through, and while he'd only just met her, he knew it was the right thing to do. However, seeing as Natsu seemed to be disliking the attention he was giving the new girl, he knew it'd be best to reassure her that she wasn't being replaced or anything like that.

A few minutes after they were underway, he dropped back to where Natsu was following and fell into stride next to her.

"The girl's been through a lot just now. If I can cheer her up and take her mind off things, then I don't see the harm. Besides which, like it or not, she is my Sekirei now, just like you are. That makes her safety my responsibility and her good treatment my obligation. You're both important to me."

This, thankfully, had the effect he was going for: it dispelled the whispers of jealousy that were gaining strength in Natsu and let her know how seriously he took his position of ashikabi. In a very real way an ashikabi was a lot like a Watcher in that it was expected of him to help both Natsu and Yashima become as strong as they can be while letting them be the young women they obviously were. True, not many Slayers developed romantic feelings for their Watchers but, for those that had, the current version of the Council had a flexible set of rules. The Slayer had to be of age as determined by her country of origin and both parties involved had to be capable of setting aside their emotions when necessary to accomplish the mission. If they could do that, Giles and the rest pretty much kept their nose out of it. Only if it became clear that the couple couldn't do their duty and get the job done because of their relationship did things come up for evaluation. Either the duo would be reassigned to a non-combat role in the organization or they'd be relieved of their duties and discharged. With the number of Slayers and Watchers available now they could afford to let a few go if they couldn't be relied upon to do their job and, truth be told, it was the most honorable way to handle things.

"Sorry," Natsu mumbled, looking appropriately chastised.

"Don't sweat it," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're young and that means you're entitled to make a couple of mistakes a week. So long as you accept responsibility for those mistakes and do your best to make up for them, you'll get no grief from me."

With those words the three of them got closer as a group and in about ten minutes they arrived at Yashima's apartment building. It was a fairly standard looking place all things considered but not so expensive that someone on a limited income would go broke keeping it. A few minutes later they were inside and the place looked pretty common except for one thing that made him wonder how Yashima could've had such trouble with the jackass in the alleyway.

Smack dab in the middle of the room was the biggest hammer he had ever seen in his entire life, including the Troll God hammer. The head of it was big enough it could've been used as the cornerstone of a building and the rod sticking up out of its center looked solid but he couldn't see how it could be used without bending in half. Still, MBI didn't strike me as the sort of company to give one of their people a weapon that'd break easily, so it had to be made of materials strong enough for it to be used in battle. However the sheer strength that'd be required in order to wield the weapon should've easily been enough to toss the asshole that'd been attacking her up and down the alley. The only thing that made any sense was that her emotions had been ramped up so high she'd been unable to think clearly and so that little fact had been overlooked.

_Should probably teach her a few of the meditation techniques I know,_ he thought as Yashima went into the bathroom and closed the door. _Losing your cool in a fight is a good way to wind up dead._

Continuing his survey of the apartment, it looked like there were only a few personal touches here and there with the rest looking like they'd come with the apartment. Had she only just recently moved in or was her budget so limited that she couldn't splurge like that? Whatever the case he continued to survey the room as he waited for Yashima to come out of the bathroom so that they could finish this meet and greet. As much as he'd like to take the day off to properly get to know the hammer-wielding young woman, Veronica needed him and he needed to shut down the operation Razor was a part of ASAP. He'd have to try and come up with an alternative weapon for her or teach her some hand to hand combat that could take advantage of the superhuman strength she possessed. Carrying around that huge hammer of hers was going to draw eyes from just about everyone not in the know about Sekirei and that would only cause problems.

_Maybe at nighttime she could carry it around or maybe whatever replacement rental I get could carry it in the trunk, assuming the suspension can take the weight._

While he had no doubt that it was a powerful weapon, he could easily see some weaknesses as well that he'd need to help her overcome if she was to last past three or four fights. The weapon was so large it was only good for horizontal or vertical attacks, making it very predictable and therefore easily avoided. Granted, a blow to the ground would break up the concrete in every direction and might give off a shockwave potent enough to knock some of the less resilient Sekirei for a loop, but against a truly skilled opponent Yashima would be cannon fodder.

It was then that he remembered the one time that he'd led a group of Slayers to take on a group of vamps in a factory and one of them managed to do something both amazing as well as something he'd been unable to get out of his head for two weeks after. Somehow she'd managed to turn a metal pipe sticking out of a metal slab into a stripper pole while also using it to great effectiveness against any fang face that ventured too close to her. Janice, of course, had remarked that the only reason half of the blows landed was because the ones that'd been hit were guys, so they were perving so bad on the show that they hadn't seen the kicks or punches coming. The Slayer in question, however, insisted that it'd been all skill and argued the merits of using such pipes to build up momentum as well as keep the enemy guessing as to which way the hits would come.

He'd naturally kept out of the discussion and deflected any attempt to drag him into it.

It'd worked… for four hours, but then he'd been forced to say something about it.

No force on EARTH would get him to reveal how THAT had turned out.

_**Yashima's POV**_

_It HAPPENED! Just like in my books!_ she thought as she went about cleaning the dirt and gunk off of herself. _My knight came to my rescue!_

All her brothers and sisters made fun of the sort of books she liked to read but if they could see her now, they'd know that there was just as much fact as fiction in those same books. Just like in the books she had been in trouble against a truly foul man and then a handsome young man had come to her rescue. Better than that, the reaction in her body had told her more than ever before that he was her promised one and so she had done what was perfectly natural for her kind.

Indeed, she'd been so overwhelmed with joy that she hadn't realized how dirty she and her clothes had gotten until her ashikabi had mentioned it. Taking the face cloth to the last patch of dirt on her face, she scrubbed it clean before giving herself one final examination to see if she'd missed a spot somewhere. Finding nothing, she then looked to her dress that was also dirty in several places before concluding that only a spin in the washing machine would get it clean. This left her in a bit of a pinch since she hadn't thought to bring something else to wear with her when she'd entered the bathroom. She blushed as a naughty idea came to her: taking off her dirty clothes and walking to her bedroom wearing only a towel wrapped around her body. It would certainly be thrilling but at the same time there were so many ways it could go wrong and wind up embarrassing her completely. In the end she decided to take off her black stockings and wear her dirty dress back to her bedroom but she did save the scenario away in her mind for a future occasion.

Once she got to know her precious ashikabi-sama well enough to know whether or not he'd react positively to such a sight.

As she closed to the door to her bedroom, she thought on the OTHER woman out there with her ashikabi and wondered just what her relationship with Xander-sama was. Obviously from the tattooed number on her shoulder she was a Sekirei and most likely had formed a pact with Xander-sama but she was curious about the more personal side of their relationship. How long had they been together? How did they meet? Had they fought other Sekirei and their ashikabi? Had they gotten… close? REAL close? She blushed as she thought about it and her mind came up with images. Shaking her head to clear it, she went to her closet and picked out a clean version of the dress she had on and set it on her bed. She didn't want to take up her ashikabi's no doubt important time and besides that she had a shift to do at the local restaurant that she couldn't miss. She was still on probation with the manager and, if she missed a shift, it could mean losing the job and she really needed it if she was going to keep her apartment.

Maybe… maybe she should inquire about whether or not Xander-sama had a place of his own and see if he had a spare room.

_NO! It's way too early for that!_ she thought as she threw off her dirty dress before picking up the fresh one.

Once the new dress was on she checked herself out in the mirror to make sure everything looked alright before heading for the bedroom door. Opening the door, the eyes of both Natsu and Xander-sama turned to look at her, instantly causing her to feel like she was being seriously evaluated making her feel rather unprepared. What was her ashikabi looking for? What would he disapprove of? These and other questions raced through her mind and she had too few answers to calm her nerves down, so she looked away and hoped that that'd be enough to keep her from completely spazzing out.

"Pretty as a picture," Xander-sama said in a way that implied that he meant every word.

She couldn't keep herself from smiling at the compliment even as her heart pulsed with returned love.

"So you said you were on your way to work?" Xander asked rhetorically as she lifted her eyes to look at him. "Well, me and Natsu'll escort you there. Just in case that asshole decides to push his luck or ask a buddy of his to have a go at it."

"T-thank you," she said, genuinely grateful for what he was offering to do for her.

"Not a problem. You're a member of Team Xander now and with that comes certain perks," he said with a bit of humor in his words. "Of course Natsu has seniority so you'll have to work hard to catch up to her."

"I'll do my best!" she said with a smile on her face and some resolve in her eyes.

"You'd better, newbie!" Natsu said with an aggressive look in her eyes. "'Cause I don't plan on just sitting still and waiting for you catch up with me. I plan on soaring higher and flying faster from here on out, so if you're not good enough you'll never catch up with me."

A challenge if ever there was one and she felt a fire blossom within her that compelled her not to lose to her senpai no matter what. Just because Natsu had been winged by Xander-sama first didn't mean she was any better and, for the prize of being her ashikabe's lead Sekirei, she'd push herself to her limits and beyond if necessary. She would rise, she would close the gap and she would OVERTAKE!

"Well, let's get going, 'kay?" Xander-sama asked, snapping her out of her stare down. "You're probably late as it is for work and the whole 'I got mugged' excuse is only going to go so far."

"Right." An idea popped into her head and on instinct she took it.

She latched onto her ashikabe's right arm with both arms and made sure it was a good enough grip that he wouldn't get away without seriously pulling. Looking up at him, she smiled and showed him how much she liked being right where she was, making it even more unlikely that he'd deny her this small bit of tactile contact. In the end he only gave her a small grin back and that was enough for her.

"Well then let's get going!" Natsu yelled with enthusiasm that was laced with annoyance.

Pulling open the door, the dark haired woman then latched onto the left arm of Xander-sama, guiding it with obvious intent to nestle in the valley between her breasts. To her this showed her just what sort of tactics her sister Sekirei was willing to employ in order to keep her superior position on 'Team Xander'.

Well that was just fine!

She'd show the woman that she could gain all the ground she needed through the little things without lowering herself to such… such… low class methods. She would prove her superior worth by cooking wonderful food for him and, if necessary, help with any cleaning or preparations he might need for whatever sort of work he did. After all, no matter how… interesting… some people might think a woman needed to be in the bedroom, it didn't mean much if she was completely useless elsewhere. THAT would be where she'd show her superiority to Natsu! Everywhere the knife thrower came up short she'd excel in, no matter what it took!

"So what sort of restaurant do you work at, Yashima?" Xander-sama asked as they reached street level.

"It's a ramen restaurant just a few blocks from here," she replied as they walked on the sidewalk in the general direction of the restaurant. "It doesn't look like much on the outside but Mister Himura really knows how to make it super tasty."

"Well, now you've caught my interest," Xander-sama said, sounding genuinely intrigued. "I've been eating at mostly fast food places since coming to Japan. Not bad when you need something in a hurry but nothing beats a meal that someone actually takes the time to prepare right."

Her eyes brightened at this because it was a good sign that if he was presented with good food he'd likely be grateful to the one who made it.

"What do you say, Natsu? We sit down for a meal before making another three passes of this section of the city?" Xander-sama asked of the other Sekirei.

"Sure… that sounds… nice." Natsu replied with a look that made it clear she knew of the opportunity her rival was getting.

"Then it's settled!" Xander-sama said with a smile and a nod. "We'll drop Yashima off at work, grab a bite to eat and then more surveying the city."

With that they continued towards Mister Himura's ramen restaurant but in the back of her mind she was making plans to have her employer teach her how to make good ramen. At the moment she was only one of the waitresses that took the orders and, when needed, helped clean up at the end of the night. However now she had a reason to do more, to learn more, and hopefully when she was done she'd be able to present her ashikabe with something no one but her will be able to match. She'd also have to consider learning other meals as well since it'd be too easy for Natsu to match her if she only did ramen. She'd have plenty of time to learn since she only worked evenings at the restaurant and had two days off for every five that she worked, so learning to cook many new things was indeed more than possible.

_I'll have to stretch out my paycheck a little more but I'm sure I can manage,_ she thought, not willing to admit that money would keep her from the place she wanted to go.

Maybe if she proved to the manager that she had talent for cooking he'd give her an increase in pay for helping out in the kitchen. After all, if he had an employee who could do two jobs instead of just one, it'd be cheaper even if he had to toss another ten percent onto the paycheck. With the added money she'd be able to make her apartment look a little less sparse and fund her efforts to become an excellent cook. With a plan in mind and a goal set she walked with the confidence of someone who knew beyond a doubt she would succeed because no other outcome was acceptable.

It was just that simple.

_**A Little Over a Week Later, A City Park, Late Evening, Xander's POV**_

_Hope I haven't inconvenienced those two too much,_ he thought as he sat on a bench waiting for his Sekirei to arrive. _With what I found out, though, I can't afford to put this off any longer._

For days he and his girls had tried to lure out Razor by providing perfect opportunities for ambushes and kills away from the prying eyes of others. Naturally he made sure they'd have a way out if things didn't go their way but appearances were everything with strategies like this, so unless the punk rocker was smarter than he looked they should've gotten a nibble. However, when nothing happened, he'd gone back to the old way of doing things which involved tapping any local info sources and checking out locations where enemy HQs might be found. Sometimes Natsu had gone with him as his bodyguard or back up and sometimes it was Yashima, but there were also times when they'd have to work. True, with the funds at his disposal, he could probably handle their rent and groceries himself so that they wouldn't need to work at all but he didn't think it was quite necessary yet. It wasn't that he was being a Scrooge or that he hadn't gotten closer to the two young ladies but rather because he felt it was likely that either Minaka or whoever was backing Razor had electronic surveillance going all over. If he started making big purchases or withdrawing money from THAT account, his enemies and non-allies will start getting suspicious and he didn't want the big reveal to happen just yet.

Not when there were still things that needed doing back in his neck of the woods.

It hadn't been until earlier, though, that he'd hit his first real lead in his pursuit of the asshole that'd already killed too members of the Council and still had a third enslaved. On a hunch he'd checked around to see if anyone had been buying up expensive lab hardware or the necessary maintenance materials for such a set up. He didn't know the specifics but his sources did so he'd gotten a word back from them a few hours later letting him know that if he x-ed out M.B.I. as a buyer then there were only two other companies with the yen necessary. He'd spent the rest of the day up until two hours ago staking out some of the less travelled locations belonging to those two companies before spotting the one person he hadn't expected to.

Kakizaki.

The description he'd been given by his favorite female felon fit to a 'T' and so he'd snapped a quick picture of the guy with the camera he had and did the same to the license plate of the car. Once he'd gotten back to the warehouse safe house he'd run both through the back door the Council had in just about every major law enforcement agency in every major country on the planet. Some had been knowingly placed there by the top dogs of the agency while others… not so much knowing, as Willow hacked in and slipped some of her hand crafted code into the system. It took five minutes to get anything even after he limited the search to Japan but it was well worth it in the end.

Kakizaki Kenji, the secretary and right hand man to one Higa Izumi.

From what he'd read, Higa had for the most part a positive reputation among other businessmen and the general public as well. However there were three times in which he'd become implicated in some rather shady dealings and one particularly nasty rape charge but in all the cases the charges were dropped due to 'insufficient evidence' or 'lack of witness credibility'. He'd seen stuff like this whenever he butted heads with Wolfram and Hart lawyers, so he knew that in all likelihood someone had gotten paid off or a scandal was manufactured to smear the prime witnesses. In his mind this meant that Higa was likely guilty of those crimes and had probably committed more than a few others that no one had caught onto. Partner him up with Kakizaki and he was sure he had Razor's backer or at least someone who was involved in the fake Sekirei plan and that meant it was time to move onto phase two.

Planning a B&amp;E of the facility where he'd spotted Kakizaki in the hopes of finding Veronica, or at least more info on what the bad guy's overall game plan was.

However, before he could do that, he'd need to get some firsthand knowledge of Yashima's abilities and see if Natsu's knife throwing needed any sharpening. He hadn't been able to keep up with the latter's fight when Caridad and Dana had attacked with Veronica, so he needed a chance to watch without any distractions. If they were really going to raid the place he needed to know what roles each of them should play and just how far they could push it before they'd need to make tracks. While he suspected that Minaka might have enough pull to give him some leeway with the police, he doubted the millionaire could cover up EVERYTHING. Once he had a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of his back up, he'd be able to formulate a plan that'd work out the best for what he wanted done. With that in mind he'd called them up and asked them to come to the park with their fighting gear on to do some training. Neither of them had questioned it but he doubted either of them had any clue what he intended to do.

He'd chosen the park at this hour because he figured there'd be less of a chance of anyone seeing them plus it had enough open space for the training he had in mind. He'd even brought some of the training tools stored at the safe house to help out since he'd need more than stationary targets for the two Sekirei to practice on. He had targets that could hover or cause to fly along specific paths at various speeds thanks to a simple levitation crystal embedded in them as well as movement enchantments. He also had wooden practice versions of both throwing knives as well as the closest match to Yashima's hammer that was stored at the warehouse. He'd use them for when the two would spar since he figured that they both needed practice fighting opponents that wielded such weapons for when the Sekirei plan hit its next stage. Both of their chosen weapons had strengths as well as weaknesses and it'd be his job to minimize the weaknesses while maximizing the strengths.

Natsu's weapon was the throwing knife and that had an effective throwing range of about fifty yards before it lost momentum or some other factor affected its course. Each were six and a half inches long with a metal ring at one end and a double edged blade at the other, with the latter thing with the intent most likely of maximizing penetration. He'd seen her throw them and use them for close quarters combat to reasonable effectiveness but he wasn't sure if she'd be good enough to take on a real threat, given how she'd fared in the previous fight. Sure, he'd told her to pull her punches after he'd discovered who it was they were fighting but she'd been bruised up plenty before that. It led him to believe that she suffered from much the same weakness as most mid-to-long range fighters: she wasn't durable enough to take hits from fists or weapons. Either that or her close quarters combat skills still needed some work, but that was something he could help her with.

Not by much, considering the time constraints he figured they were under, but he'd take whatever he could get.

As for Yashima, he'd have to wait and see just how effective she was with her giant hammer weapon before he could make any judgments on how she could improve. In his mind the weapon carried a lot of the same flaws that that anime character's zanbatou possessed: it might be devastating if it hit but its sheer size limited the ways it could be swung to two. Either it could be swung horizontally to catch the opponent in the side or it could be swung vertically by bringing it down in an overhead smash. That would make her rather easy to predict and once that was locked in then evading each swing would be child's play making counterattacking that much easier. In order to counter this weakness he'd need to teach her something to cover for the times when she was vulnerable after each swing. To him that definitely meant seeing what he could do to up her hand to hand combat abilities or turning her into a dodge ball champ, with her hands never straying far from her weapon.

As an absolute, ABSOLUTE, last resort he might see about getting the security footage of the stripper pole melee fight since he was pretty sure at least one of his Slayers had it tucked away someplace.

_Now if I could only figure out how to ask for it without coming off as a complete pervert..._

Yeah, he'd have an easier time trying to stop the next apocalypse wearing nothing but his boxers with a toothpick in his hand.

It was then that he spotted both Yashima and Natsu walking side by side towards him, with the former resting her giant hammer on her shoulder. He seriously wondered if this city had its own version of Sunnydale Syndrome because he just couldn't see how anyone could fail to notice such a large weapon being carried by such an ordinary young woman. He knew if he was walking down the street and saw her, he'd be gaping for sure and then, after he recovered, he'd probably tell all his friends about it. Whatever the reason, it worked out in his favor since it'd let some of the weird stuff slide as far as the public was concerned, giving him some leeway in terms of how far he could take things. There was obviously going to be a limit as to how far but, depending on the situation, he'd push the proverbial envelope as far as he could.

"Well we're here, Xander. What's up?" Natsu asked, looking about the immediate area for clues.

"I've gotten a lead on the people behind the fake Sekirei production. I saw Kakizaki coming out of the place with my own eyes and verified that his boss is into shady deals," he replied, getting off of the bench. "My plan is to raid the place and either free prisoners or steal any interesting info from the place. To pull it off, though, I'll need some help. I'll need your help."

"You don't even need to ask, Xander," Natsu said without a shred of hesitation or reluctance. "You are my ashikabe. If there's a reason you need to break into this place, I'm with you all the way."

"S-same here. I trust you, Xander," Yashima said, sounding uneasy about the idea.

"Thank you. Before we can even think of doing anything, though, I need to know what you can do and how much you can handle fight-wise. Once I know that, we can plan the raid and get the job done. Let's get started!"

_**Four Days Later, A New Park, Late Evening, Natsu's POV**_

"Don't slow down, Natsu!" Xander yelled from his position off to the right. "Remember! The people we'll likely bump into will be using guns, tazers and who knows what else! For you speed and movement are KEY!"

"Hai!" she yelled back as she continued to move in random directions while throwing her blades at the floating targets.

It wasn't as easy as she'd thought it'd be when they first started training four nights ago because, while the target wasn't maddeningly small, the pyramid upon which the target sat kept rotating in random directions. Just when she thought she had a shot lined up, the object would rotate in a direction that made hitting the mark impossible, forcing her to reposition herself in order to try again. What made it all the worse was the fact that there were FIVE pyramids and Xander had set the goal that she had to hit the bullseye on all of them in under five seconds. It was an unbelievable task but her ashikabe assured her that the goal was achievable for someone of her physical prowess, meaning all it'd take would be practice. At the moment she'd only been able to successfully score hits on three of the five targets within the set time limit. It'd been frustrating at first but, after the first dozen tries, she'd let her stubborn nature shine through and even now four nights later she was determined to reach the goal that'd been set before her.

As she leapt into the air to try and get a bead on the five targets from above, she glanced in the direction where Yashima was doing her own training.

It'd been due to the hammer-wielding Sekirei that they'd had to change from the last park they'd trained in because of the devastation caused by her blows. Indeed, the one time that Xander had asked the girl to show her prayer technique, Gravity Hammer, it'd been powerful enough to leave a crater spanning a third of the park's total size. They'd all had to get out of there pretty quickly in order to keep from getting arrested by the police and since then the technique had never been used again. Instead Xander was teaching her hand-to-hand combat that could be used without her hammer, followed by moves that could be used in conjunction with her chosen weapon. Most of the latter moves seemed centered around using the solid metal rod at its center as a form of defense while employing attacks from different angles. Most of those angles would be difficult, if not impossible, without the aid of something to grab onto to support you, but that just made it all the harder for an enemy to guard against them.

For both her and her sister Sekirei, the training was demanding but their ashikabe wasn't being a bully or a tyrant about it. It was more like he knew what they were capable of and wasn't willing to settle for anything less than their best.

"Yashima! Keep your attacks random looking!" Xander yelled from his position. "If you fall into a predictable pattern your opponent will be ready for you and probably have a nasty surprise waiting for you when you get there!"

"Hai!" Yashima responded before making it even harder to determine if she was going to throw a punch or a kick.

Using her sister's determination to bolster her own, she began to try to think up ways in which she could reach her goal. The obvious option was to slow down and take the time to observe the rotations of the targets to see if there was any pattern to them that she could use to her advantage. Was there any one time where all bullseyes lined up next to each other at the same time on the same side? Was there a time when they lined up from left to right or right to left one after another before rotating out of alignment? She did not believe that her ashikabe would set the goal for her if there was no chance it could be reached. Thus, with a deep breath to release all her pent up frustration and anxiety, she focused her eyes on her targets mentally keeping track of how they rotated, which direction they rotated in and how many targets faced her at the same time. For a good five minutes she watched, never letting a single detail escape her notice and always looked for the ideal moment to strike with her throwing blades.

It took a while for her to get what she'd need but, once she had it, she did not hesitate when the best chance to score all five hits appeared.

_NOW!_

Pushing her body as hard as she could, she threw two blades with speed and precision before leaping into the air to get an eyeball on the remaining three targets. Her observations had shown that there was no time in which all five targets faced her at the same time but there was a moment where two faced her with the remaining three being in feasible positions for her to hit if she took to the air. In a split second she could see the targets but they were already beginning to rotate out of her direct line of sight. Refusing to fail when victory was so close, she threw her remaining three blades while praying that they would hit their mark like she wanted them to. For a time it seemed like time had slowed down, if only by half, as she watched the three pieces of sharpened metal inch ever closer to the moving targets.

TING!TING!TING!

_YES!_ The targets dropped from the air to the grass below. _I DID IT!_

"I did it, Xander! I did it!" she crowed after landing back on the ground and began to act like a boxer that'd just won the world title.

"That you did, Natsu," Xander said with a proud grin on his face, "but don't let this go to your head. We've got three more nights of training and there are another four levels to this exercise before I have to think up something else."

"Four more?" she asked, almost cringing at how hard things were going to get.

"Yep. Don't know how far you'll get with three nights to work with but I'm hoping it'll be enough to make sure you're prepared for the raid." Xander replied with a nod of his head before walking over to the targets she'd just knocked down. "Now let's see if your win was a fluke or if you're really ready for level two."

"Right," she said with a nod of her head before she went to reclaim her thrown blades.

"Yashima! You're doing better but don't think that metal pole is going to be able to protect you from everything. Once your opponents get used to you fighting that way, they'll come up with ways of getting around it or some of them will be able to slice right through it. The pole is merely a tool, a way of attacking them and defending yourself, but a strong fighter has more than one tool at the ready."

"Right! Xander-sama!" Yashima yelled back before she adjusted her moves to include the pole part of her hammer only a third of the time in her defense.

It was harsh training but, even as she turned her gaze back to the reset targets that were rising back into the air, she knew it'd be worth it when it was all over with. Their skills would be sharper and maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to show the Sekirei they'd have to fight a few surprises that'd completely throw them for a loop. When they were all living inside an M.B.I compound, they were grouped according to type for most of their training but occasionally they sparred against someone of a different type. Naturally the people who organized the training made sure that no one Sekirei got to see more than three members of a different type in order to keep the second stage of the Sekirei plan interesting. If everyone got to see everyone else's moves before even leaving the compound, there'd be no surprises and therefore the fights would be less amusing for those watching.

If this training with Xander made her even a little stronger than she was before she'd met him, then she would make it through all five levels of the floating targets no matter what!

Narrowing her eyes on the five targets, she once more began to measure, evaluate and predict their movements waiting for an opportunity like before to show itself.

_Patience! Just wait and it'll come!_

_**Two Days Later, Outside the Black Lotus Bar, Mid-Morning, Xander's POV**_

_Here's hoping Funanya's feeling generous,_ he thought as he looked up at the bar's sign. _Otherwise this'll probably cost me an arm._

Still, Natsu and Yashima's training was coming to an end so he'd need to ask the arms dealer sooner or later, so he figured it might as well be now. At the moment he figured he had a pretty good grasp of both Sekirei's abilities, along with their habits, so it wouldn't be all that difficult planning out the raid on Higa's building. Now what he needed was information on the building in question from the layout of its various floors to what kind of security it had both inside and outside. If he could even get an idea of what their security protocols were, what they'd do in a given situation, then the op would go down that much smoother. The only problem was he couldn't get that information on his own because most of the skills he'd learned since leaving Sunnydale focused on being out in the wilderness rather than the busy cities. That meant his hacking skills were less than stellar and he'd probably make members of the intelligence gathering community cringe at his attempts to case a place for an op.

With everything on the line, he couldn't afford to screw things up by tipping them off any more than he already probably had.

That meant he needed to call in some favors and pay someone to do some superb hacking to get every online file possible about the target structure. Fortunately for him the arms dealer lady knew a lot of people in the hacker world since such skills helped considerably when it came to 'liberating' a few crates of this type of gun or a box of that type of grenade. He remembered the woman once telling him a tale of how she'd managed to clean out an entire Russian warehouse and it wasn't until a month later that the owner realized that his stockpile had been stolen. Apparently the hacker she'd hired had somehow managed to leave a circular paper trail of sorts that made the owner think that the merchandise was just in transit to one of his other storage facilities. It wasn't until the man finally had his people put eyes on all the places the paper trail said the weapons were that the truth came out.

The owner had NOT been happy to say the least.

Rumor had it that heads literally rolled in the days that followed.

_With a little luck maybe she'll be able to hook me up with the same hacker,_ he thought as he entered the bar.

Looking about the place, he saw a lot of the same type of people that'd been there last time but this was just peripheral knowledge to him. He kept his gaze focused on the bartender who spotted his approach once he reached the halfway point between her and the bar. He ordered a local beer that'd he'd developed a taste for since coming to Japan before asking the pierced woman to let Funanya he was here to see her. Moving over to a vacant, table he could tell that the other bar patrons were getting his measure but some were eyeing his new hair and eye color. After the fight outside Izumo inn, he hadn't bothered to put his 'Xander disguise' back on since there was no one from the Council other than him in the city at the moment. They probably thought he was some punker-wannabe or perhaps an American who was into cosplay. He didn't mind since it meant that it'd mean they were underestimating him and, if they blabbed to anyone else, those people would probably underestimate him as well.

That worked in his favor nicely.

"Oh! Now I know you be havin' a t'ing for Funanya," Funanaya said in her usual sexy manner as she approached his table. "M'be you be tellin' me all 'bout it in back?"

He couldn't help but chuckle in amusement.

He'd known the woman for over seven years and she never ceased to try to get him all flustered, even though he knew that there was nothing outside of friendship between the two of them. Perhaps occasionally it swelled into a 'friends with benefits' relationship but he knew there was nothing romantic between the two of them. Still, it was amusing as hell to have a battle of words with her and having a friend on the wrong side of the tracks gave him a heads up on potential trouble approaching the people he cared about.

"Maybe some other time. Gotta build my stamina back up, ya know?" he asked rhetorically before moving onto the main reason he was here. "I actually came here to ask if you know a hacker I could hire. I'm going on a venture of sorts and need the lay of the land. Know anyone?"

Funanya looked a little disappointed that she wouldn't be able to have her afternoon fun but then the look was gone and she was business casual as usual.

"I be knowin' a few computer crackers who might be willin' to help you. How gray is it gonna be?" Funanya asked, obviously wanting to know the risk factor involved.

"Corporate. Shady Corporate," he replied, trying to convey the important without giving any eavesdroppers anything juicy to sell. "A slippery sonuvabitch that's slipped the law nets quite a few times."

"Hmmmmm… you've managed to track him down, haven't'cha?" she asked, catching onto the game he wanted to play with words. "If you be wantin' a peek at his books, no second stringers will be up to the task. I know three who be free at th'moment. They be pricey though."

"I'm willing to be reasonable," he said honestly as he recalled how much spending money he had to work with. "I'm even willing to add a bonus if they go above and beyond without tipping off the prey. It has to be done without a single vibration in the web."

"Then there be only one cracker for you," Funanya said after a moment's consideration. "She be a bit crazy that one but never met someone like her b'fore. She get wha' you want with no one de wiser for it. Gimme your email and I'll pass it 'long to her. She'll contact you within two hours."

"Good. I owe you one, Funanya," he said as he wrote down his email address on a napkin.

"You be owin' me more than that, milord," she said with a saucy smile. "Believe me when I be saying I will collect one a these days."

"I don't doubt it," he said as he slid the napkin with his address on it across the table to his ally. "As long as it's not like that time after we took down that group of mercs. It took me weeks to walk normal again!"

"Don' worry! After de sixth boy I took to me bed ran off, I decided doin' t'ings like dat ain' worth it no more." Funanya said with a bit of amusement as she pocketed the napkin. "Dat's one a the good t'ings about those t'ings. There's always somethin' new to try."

He gaped at some of the possibilities his mind was coming up with and, like clockwork, Funanya started laughing at him because of how she'd made his head go into chaos. Shaking his head at the woman's hobby, he got out of his own chair and started walking to the bar entrance since he wanted to be ready at the warehouse safe house when the hacker contacted him. He already had a mental list of the things he wanted grabbed divided into 'I ABSOLUTELY NEED IT' and 'if you come across it, grab it' columns. With a bit of luck he'd have the game plan all mapped out by tomorrow afternoon and that'd be just enough time to go through it with Natsu and Yashima a couple dozen times, until they could recite it all in their sleep. He'd do his best to keep it as simple as possible, but he'd have to plan for every possible turn of events with a seventy percent or higher chance of happening at certain points in the operation. His soldier memories gave him some ideas of how the security personal might react in worst case scenarios and the times he'd encountered organized merc bands in Africa would also help.

_For it to really work, though, it might be time to finally let those two know where my HQ is,_ he thought as he exited onto the sidewalk. _Natsu's been with me long enough that I feel I can trust her and Yashima is pretty much an open book with her intentions. Besides, if I'm going to have them break the law and possible thrash a lot of people, I need to do something in return._

In the beginning he'd kept Natsu away from his base because he wanted to know more about the whole Sekirei thing before he let her into his inner sanctum. He was concerned that someone at M.B.I. might've conditioned them or programmed them somehow and that by letting one of them into his HQ he might be opening the Council up to espionage. After a dozen times using various anti-surveillance device talismans with a negative response, he dismissed this possibility especially when he left some juicy bait out there for the blade thrower to grab. He'd also tested her the few times that she'd tried to trail him back to the warehouse but, while she wasn't completely amateurish, it wasn't hard for him to lose her. He'd concluded that either whoever had trained her had trained her using methods from the movies or hadn't trained her at all. As for Yashima, she was far too nice and meek to be able to pull off anything sneaky and not give herself away with at least a dozen tells.

She'd be cleaned out if she ever played a serious game of poker.

_Definitely have to keep her away from Faith,_ he thought before shaking out the image that came to mind. _That woman would take too much pleasure playing a game of strip poker with Yashima._

Almost forty chronologically, thirty physically and she still hadn't matured past her early twenties mentally.

_**The Next Day, Late Afternoon, Outside Natsu's Apartment, Yashima's POV**_

"So why do you think Xander-sama's picking us up so early?" she asked as she stood with her hammer resting on the pavement in front of her. "Wouldn't it make more sense to do… it… at night? When there's less of a chance of someone spotting us?"

"I'm sure he has his reasons," Natsu said with a trench coat covering the numerous sheathes strapped to her limbs and body. "He hasn't steered us wrong so far, has he?"

"No, he hasn't," she replied even as she continued to look for any sign of her ashikabe.

It had only been a little over an hour ago that Xander-sama had called her and let her know that he'd be picking up her and Natsu outside the latter's apartment. When she inquired as to why, he'd only told her that it was time for the final prep work for what they'd be doing tonight and that they should make sure to have their 'tools' with them when he arrived. She'd correctly deciphered that he meant their weapons so, once she was in her proper fighting clothes, she put her hammer on her shoulder and walked over to where Natsu lived. She knew that M.B.I. wanted the Sekirei Plan to be confidential but she'd been told that, if anyone ever asked, to just say it was a prop for cosplaying and to never let anyone touch it since that'd instantly give away the weapon's weight. She'd just arrived at the address to see Natsu coming down the front steps wearing a trench coat but, before she could ask why, a gust of wind revealed the truth. Holsters strapped to each limb plus one around her waist with all of them filled with blades that had no doubt been provided by the man in charge of the Plan.

That had been twenty minutes ago and still they waited for their ashikabe.

It was when she was just about to give Xander-sama a call to see where he was that she noticed what looked to be a moving truck slow down before pulling up to the curb next to them. There was no company logo anywhere and the windows were tinted so that it was difficult to see who was driving, but when the driver's side window rolled down she was surprised to see it was Xander-sama.

"All aboard, ladies!" he said with the lopsided grin she'd become used to seeing. "We're on the clock!"

Nodding, she went to the rear and pushed open the rear of the vehicle since there was no way that her hammer would fit in front with the three of them. With ease born of familiarity, she placed her weapon inside before sliding the back shut and securing it before heading for the passenger side door. She was a little disappointed to find that Natsu had already cuddled up to Xander-sama but she consoled herself with the fact that her cooking lessons at the restaurant were going wonderfully. While she still had a ways to go, her mentor had told her that she had the talent for it so it was just a matter of refining it until she reached the level of a professional. Once she was there, she'd steal away ALL of Xander-sama's attention with one delicious meal after another until Natus's naughty methods looked pathetic more than anything else.

"Where are we going, Xander?" Natsu asked as the moving truck merged back with traffic.

"My HQ. It's time to brief you on how tonight is going to go," Xander-sama replied without taking his eyes off the road. "I've spent the last day going over information on the building and the security it has. I'm pretty sure I have a surefire plan for getting us in, getting what we want and getting out before Higa can get any reinforcements there. I'll explain more once we get to the warehouse."

Warehouse? His HQ?!

This was a shock to both her and Natsu since never once before had their ashikabe told them anything about it, much less taken them there. They'd both been curious and had asked the odd question but Xander-sama had merely changed the subject or given them answers that didn't really tell you anything of value. Natsu had once tried to get clues to its location so that she could figure it out based on the layout of the city but, given the sour look on the knife thrower's face three days later, it hadn't worked out well. Why was he doing this? Had they finally earned his trust? Had they earned the right to see where he was living inside the city? It made her smile since she believed that the answer to the last two questions was yes and it meant that they'd taken a BIG step forward in their relationship with him. With this level of trust she would be able to ask about his past, where he was from and how he had become the man who was her ashikabe. Oh, he'd told both her and Natsu little things about himself but she could tell that he kept the bulk of the truth to himself, though she didn't think it was for the same reasons as keeping his HQ a secret.

She looked forward to learning all she could from this point forward.

It took them a good couple of minutes to reach the warehouse that, to her mind, was a good size more than she thought one person would need for a solo mission. When he rolled down the window she thought she heard him say two words, mellon and fellowship, but she couldn't be sure because he said them so softly. Whatever he said the entrance to the building rolled up to admit them and, once it was up high enough to allow the vehicle entry, Xander-sama drove it inside, parking it on top of a painted section of the concrete floor. Looking in the rearview mirror, she could see the warehouse door rolling back down and, with its descent, the engine of the vehicle was turned off.

Looking about the room once she got out of the truck, she was amazed at how it looked more like military barracks than what she'd expect from the interior of a warehouse. There was an obvious training area taking up almost half of the interior on the opposite side of the building. A series of mats like you'd see in a martial arts dojo were laid out and up against the back wall was a plethora of equipment, ranging from practice weapons to the real thing. She could also see what looked up to be fold up targets that could be set up on a moment's notice for anything from archery to knife throwing. On either side of the warehouse there were two floors of rooms that didn't look to be half the size of your average dorm room, making her think that at most the place could host twenty-four people comfortably. More could probably be handled if they brought sleeping bags and laid them out on the mats but that'd likely be an extreme case.

Closer to the side of the warehouse they were on there were two areas: a small kitchen and what looked to be an expensive mix of computers as well as stuff that could either be found in a lab or on the set of a magic movie. There was a high tech looking table in between the lab and the computer set up that she presumed was just an electronic screen meant to provide an alternate way to display information from the computer or another source.

All in all it was an impressive set up that made her ask herself just WHO or WHAT was her ashikabe was but she didn't have an answer… YET.

"Well, it isn't a fancy hotel or a posh mansion but it's what I've been calling home lately," Xander said as he led them over to the odd looking table. "Normally it's meant to be home to a lot more people but, since I didn't know if the other safe houses had been compromised or not, I figured this was my best bet."

"How many others are there?" Natsu asked curiously as she walked.

"In this city? About eight, with a ninth under construction at the moment," Xander replied offhand as he reached the table and pressed a button on it. "They're scattered all over so that if anyone comes to the city and gets into trouble, they won't have far to go to find sanctuary."

"What is it you guys need sanctuary from?" she asked, not having heard anything on the topic.

For a minute Xander paused, a look of conflicting desires on his face but reached a decision in the end.

"Well, this might be hard to believe but… the group I belong to fights the supernatural and the demonic. Demons, vampires, ghosts and dark magic users," he replied, looking at them both right in the eye without flinching. "Slayers take on most of the work but Watchers like me do what we can where we can. I was sent to this city to investigate the disappearance of two of our teams and to learn more about you Sekirei, to determine if you were friend or foe and, if it was the latter, figure out your weaknesses in case we ever fought."

There was no real way to respond to that so she simply gaped.

She'd heard of a lot of the things he said he fought against but she'd been told many a time that they weren't real, that they were make believe, so she didn't have to be afraid of them. Her first instinct was to dismiss his claims as some kind of joke but then little things began to drop into place in her mind either from what she'd seen firsthand or what she'd heard from Natsu. The tools he'd used to train them so far, the stories Natsu had told her about how he fought the fake Sekirei that'd come after the two of them and now this set up. While she'd still probably need to actually see a vampire or demon before she'd be totally sold on the idea, she wouldn't call him a crazy person.

"Now let's get down to business!" Xander said as the surface of the table lit up, revealing it to be a touch screen as he manipulated the folders and files displayed. "Thanks to some help from a local hacker I managed to get quite a bit of information on the building we'll be raiding as well as its security set up. It cost me a few hours of sleep but I managed to come up with a plan. First take a look at stage one of the plan."

With that something happened that she hadn't been counting on: a layout of the area surrounding the target building appeared but then it ROSE into the air to form a three dimensional hologram. Everything looked to be perfectly scaled to the point where she recognized each building, even though it was a different perspective than she usually had from street level.

"Amazing! Not even M.B.I. has something like this!" Natsu exclaimed, looking quite interested in the sight before her.

"That's because it's not based completely on science," Xander-sama explained even as he somehow took a holographic version of the truck they'd arrived in and put it two blocks from the target building. "One of my… well, let's call him 'associate' because he's way too annoying to be a friend, watched a movie once where this cool billionaire inventor had something like this in his workshop. From that point on he used all his free time to make science and sorcery mesh so he could make this work the way he wanted. Once the first prototype passed inspection we began making them like crazy and put them in every major city where we have a deal hammered out with the government."

With that her ashikabe swept aside any further inquiries and focused on explaining the plan he'd come up with for the raid on the Higa building.

She made sure she caught every word and understood everything he did his best to explain to her as well as Natsu.


End file.
